Showing posts with label Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Me. Show all posts

Friday, June 26, 2026

This and That, March Through June

In March, Lydia was finally able to get tubes put in her ears. We were all nervous about the surgery, but it went well. And no ear infections since getting tubes.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 
Sean's 29th birthday was April 9th. We bought him a new suit. (He wears suits to church.) There's a store in Greensboro that sells good brand suits for discounted prices. Sean tried on a few before choosing one. I think it was Calvin Klein, but I really don't remember.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Kelly's friend/my "second daughter" Rene had her second child in April. A little girl named Atalaya Hadassah. (Her oldest is a boy named Anthony. I think he'll be 3 this year.) She is so adorable!
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
I brought Effie to the vet a month or two ago for a check-up, including one or two shots. She's healthy, but the vet would like for her to lose a pound. She already seems pretty little to me (I think she's 8 or 9 pounds), but maybe that's because all of our other cats were/are bigger.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Charlie had to go to Indiana and Illinois the week of May 18th. He doesn't usually work on cranes on the rare occasions that he travels for work. He just has to basically do customer/client relations. He really doesn't enjoy that at all.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
The week of May 25th, Charlie went with Sean, Ashley, and Lydia (in his truck; they drove their car) to the Outer Banks. He asked Kelly and I several times if we wanted to go and we couldn't. We were both expecting to start that week and we don't have anyone to take care of our cats while we're gone. 
 
Years ago, we'd have my mom do it, but she didn't come over often enough to let our dogs out, fill bowls, clean out litter boxes, etc. So we don't ask her anymore. After we quit asking her, we had Rene house sit/pet sit, but she got married in 2019 and has two little ones now.
 
The only way we could go is if Sean and Ashley don't go and can take care of our cats for us. When they're out of town, Kelly and I take care of their cats.
 
Anyway, they had a good time. There was some rain for a couple days, but they did mostly indoor stuff on those days. Like going to the aquarium. Charlie and Sean were able to do a little fishing. And they all went to a couple lighthouses, the Elizabethan Gardens (Charlie wasn't feeling good when they went there, so he stayed in his room), etc.
 






Kelly and I enjoyed our week at home (except for AF) and really didn't miss not going to the coast.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
June 3rd, Kelly and I went to The Depot antique mall in Concord. That place is huge! We were there for about four hours. We had to hurry towards the end since they were about to close, so we didn't see everything. They have a lot of neat stuff. My favorite booth was filled with weapons, helmets, and other military items from WWI, WWII, the 1800s, etc. It was so cool!
 
After leaving the antique mall, we got something to eat (I don't remember the name of the place; the food was okay) and on our way home, we stopped at the North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is at a rest stop.
 


 There was a man there with a very friendly pit bull. He (the dog) came running towards us, off leash, tail wagging, tongue out. The man hollered at us, "It's okay. He's friendly." The dog started to walk away and then I made the pss-pss-pss noise and he excitedly came back to me and started to jump up on me. So, it works for dogs, too. lol He was a sweet dog.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Saturday, June 13th, Kelly and I went to an antique store here in Greensboro. It was bigger than I expected and, again, we ran out of time before we could see everything. They had some nice stuff, but their prices were higher than the antique mall in Concord.
 
The reason I'm going to antique stores is because I want/need a larger, better quality trunk (real wood!) to keep our bedding in. (We don't have a linen closet.) Not only do I need one a little bigger, but I expect that Lydia and her baby sister at some point may want to sit or stand on the one I have and that one is made of thin, cheap material. It would likely cave in under their weight.
 
There are a couple thrift stores and a few more antique stores I'd like to check out. I've also done online searches. Hopefully I'll find one soon.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
I had a doctor's appointment on June 17th. A regular check-up. I was going to get the shingles shot and tetanus shot at that appointment, as well as have blood work done, but after getting the shingles shot (which hurt like crazy! - it bruised and has now turned yellow), I told them no more needles for the day. I almost fainted and the nurse had me lie down. She fanned me with papers in her hand for a few minutes. Then I moved to a chair and she brought me a small bottle of water. I felt better after a little bit.
 
I went back to the doctor this past Tuesday the 23rd to get my blood work done. I went to Rack Room after that and got some new tan sandals (I've needed new sandals for years) and then got a cute pink top and shorts for Lydia at Belk for half off. 
 
Oh, my blood pressure is a little high, so I'm having to check that a couple times a day at home. 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
There's been almost no movies worth watching for several years now, but I've watched two really good ones so far this year - Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix and Project Hail Mary on Amazon Prime. Both made me cry a lot. If I had known how much I would love PHM, I would've gone to the theater to see it in IMAX. One of the best movies I've ever watched.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Songs purchased for my iPod since late March:
 
The Warrior is a Child by Twyla Paris
We Want Revival by Red Worship
Ask Me Why by David Jennings
Take Control by UPCI Music (featuring Draylin Young & Rayne Libby)
Show Me Your Face/Yahweh by Red Worship
Show Me Your Face Medley by Indiana Bible College
Making a Way For Me/Waymaker by Indiana Bible College
Nothing Else by Indiana Bible College
Everything For Me by J.J. Hairston
For Christ Alone by 2819 Worship
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
I will post about dress purchases in a separate entry. 
 
*

Monday, May 13, 2024

Lydia, Easter, Aurora Borealis, Mother's Day, Etc.

I've been a little neglectful of my blog lately. I usually like to post once a month, but I just didn't feel like writing last month. There's quite a bit to catch up on. I'll try not to be too wordy though.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Tuesday, March 26th, Lydia came home from the hospital. She had finally got the hang of eating (something the nurses said takes preemies a little longer to learn) and was putting weight back on after losing a little.

They had detected a heart murmur when she was still in the hospital and they could still hear it in the weeks after she went home. On April 29th, she had to go to the cardiologist to have that checked and they said there's nothing to worry about. At that doctor visit, she weighed 10 lbs. 11 oz.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Easter was March 31st. I wore the yellow Talbots dress I had bought from someone on Poshmark back in February. I wore nude heels with it, a white shrug, and carried a light blue straw Talbots tote that I had bought from someone on Poshmark in May 2021. I really liked the outfit and got compliments.

I don't remember much from that day as far as what church was like because I waited too long to post about it. lol We had a good crowd though and the weather was beautiful. Sunny and in the 70s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sean's birthday was April 9th. He's 27 years old now. Seems crazy to have an almost 30-year-old. I had remembered that he had said something a few weeks before his birthday about needing new church shirts, so I met him, Ashley, and Lydia at Belk on Saturday the 13th and bought him a couple dress shirts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, April 13th, Charlie bought a flamethrower redbud tree for our front yard. He couldn't find an eastern redbud at Lowe's or the nursery that's near our house, but the nursery had a few other kinds of redbuds. He texted me about it while I was getting groceries at Walmart asking me which one I wanted. I looked them up and chose the flamethrower. The other two were called hearts of gold and ruby falls.

I'd like to get a dogwood in the fall. Our yard has looked so sad since we lost our trees in a storm on August 15th. But I don't want anything big enough to crush our car again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, April 15th, I got our taxes done. I went to the same lady I've been going to for the past few years. We're not getting a big refund, but enough to get a new mattress (it's time).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our pastor announced at church on April 21st that his daughter Savannah and her husband Jonathan are expecting their third child! Exciting news! Their oldest (Vincent) is almost 3 years old and their youngest (Valentina, soon to be middle child) is several months old. A friend of mine told me that Savannah wants five children. I wonder if they'll all have V names.
 

Our youth leaders (Jerry and Jessalyn) announced a month or so ago that they're expecting a baby girl. I didn't even know she was pregnant. Also exciting news! They have a boy (not even a year old, I don't think) named Ronin.
 
Jessalyn is Savannah's husband Jonathan's sister. She has a twin sister named Joelle. Joelle is married to a man named Ross. They have a baby boy named Abram.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday, April 26th, I went to urgent care because my right arm, which I hurt on October 18th, was hurting really badly and the arm braces didn't seem to be helping. The pain was getting worse. The doctor told me that it seems like I hurt it in multiple places (wrist to shoulder) and gave me the number of an orthopedic doctor to see. I need to call them this week. I had to put off calling because I didn't know exactly when AF would start and didn't want to schedule an appointment only to have to reschedule. And then I got sick and have been sick all this past week. :-\

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This past Friday night, the aurora borealis was visible for much of the US. Including North Carolina. Well, not that visible to the naked eye, though I could see it a little bit, but if you put your phone camera on night mode, the colors show up. It was beautiful! And at times, we could see this white pulsating - like streaks or streams of pulsating white light - with our naked eye! It was so cool! I was bouncing with excitement every time that happened. lol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, Sunday, May 12th, was Mother's Day. I slept maybe 15 minutes Saturday night and couldn't make it to church. I hate missing church! :-( I was so sad about that. I finally fell asleep around 8:30 in the morning and slept off and on until about 2:20 in the afternoon. I also wasn't feeling well still. But it was such a beautiful day - Carolina blue skies, a few clouds, and temperatures in the 70s.

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia came over this past Saturday and brought me flowers and a card. I wish I could've held Lydia (I love that sweet baby so much!), but I don't know if what I have is contagious (I'm thinking sinus cold), so I didn't.

I also got flowers and a card from Charlie, a card and money from my mom (we gave her a card and a purple orchid - her favorite color is purple), and I bought a couple dresses. We gave Ashley a card and money to buy a new dress. (Charlie transferred the money to her account.) She had said to me a few weeks back that she needs new dresses.
 
Flowers from Sean and Ashley.

Flowers from Charlie.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchases since my last blog entry:

Boden dress. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. (This is their picture.) Originally $198. I paid $71.52 after shipping and tax. More than I normally pay for dresses these days, but I had been looking for this dress in my size for at least a year.
 

Modcloth dress. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. Originally $150. I paid $36.24 after shipping and tax.
 
 
Modcloth dress. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. (This is their picture.) Probably also originally $150. I paid $46.94 after shipping and tax.
 
 
Calvin Klein shirt dress. One of the dresses I bought for Mother's Day. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. Originally over $100. (Could be between $120 and $135.) I paid $40.54 after shipping and tax.
 

Tommy Hilfiger dress. The other dress I bought for Mother's Day. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. I don't know the original price. I paid $35.20 after shipping and tax.


Saturday, March 2, 2024

Loss, Birthdays, Park, and Sick Milo

On January 21st, my aunt Nelie passed away. She was 90 years old. She was my maternal grandma's youngest sibling and the last surviving of her siblings. My grandma passed away in 2003 at the age of 78. The other siblings were James (1915-1968), Horace (1917-1972), Lester (1919-1994), Pauline (1923-2004), and Ruth (1928-1997).
 

 
Aunt Nelie is the one with the doll. Behind her is her mother Lessie. Beside her is her sister Ruth. Behind Ruth is my grandma/Nelie and Ruth's sister Doris.

Aunt Nelie and her husband Richard.
 
Left to right: James, Nelie, Lester, Grandma (in the back), Pauline, Horace, and Ruth.

I hadn't seen my aunt Nelie in many years, but it was sad to lose the last of my grandma's siblings. That generation of our family is gone and now we can't talk to them about times past and things they lived through and experienced. 

--------------------

On February 1st, the baby wasn't moving as much as she normally does, so Ashley went to her doctor. He or she then told Ashley to go to the hospital. Charlie and I arrived at the hospital awhile after they did. We were there for an hour or two while they monitored the baby. Thankfully, all was fine. They said she was probably sitting on/leaning against the umbilical cord and/or playing with it.

After leaving the hospital, we went to Texas Roadhouse for supper. I got the herb crusted chicken. It was delicious.

--------------------

My birthday was February 7th. I'm 51 years old now. I was 35 when I started writing in this blog. Hard to believe. For my birthday, I made a chocolate blueberry cake. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted (not enough of a sweet blueberry flavor in it), but it was still good.

Charlie gave me money to shop with. I mostly ordered skirts. A few black denim skirts (two Lauren Ralph Lauren, one Land's End), a brown pencil skirt (Lauren Ralph Lauren), a green, flowy silk skirt (Calvin Klein), a green corduroy skirt (St. John's Bay), white denim skirt (Lauren Ralph Lauren), and a green Tahari cardigan. (My favorite color is green. :-) Red is a close second.) All for low prices off of eBay and Poshmark.
 

Kelly's birthday was February 8th. She's 24 years old now. She wanted strawberry pie instead of her usual cookies and cream ice cream cake this year. She doesn't like actual cake, except cheesecake.
 

Charlie's birthday was February 21st. He's now 55 years old. I made him one of his favorite meals - fried pork chops, macaroni and tomatoes, corn, and great northern beans. The cake he wanted this year was lemon cake (instead of yellow with chocolate frosting) - I put buttercream frosting on top.

--------------------

I had to renew my license by my birthday this year. Last time I got it renewed, I was able to do it online. This year I had to go to the DMV to renew it. I had to read the top line of some letters and get my picture taken (probably the worst picture that's ever been taken of me in my entire life). I went a day or two before my birthday and was there for about an hour or maybe a little longer. It felt even longer than that. :-/

--------------------

On my birthday, Kelly and I went to the dam at Company Mill Preserve and to Hagan-Stone Park. The temperature wasn't bad (about 51 or 52 degrees), but for some reason I was about to freeze. I wished that I had gloves with me, a thicker coat, and had worn boots instead of tennis shoes. I did finally warm up, but it took longer than I thought it would.
 
The gap in the dam wall is to the left of this picture.

Dam wall gap. Kelly took this picture for me while I stood in agony after falling. lol
 

Anyway, we went to the dam at Company Mill first. I took some pictures and short videos and then noticed a small open area in the wall to the left of the dam. I told Kelly I wanted to get up there. We found a stone wall about 3-4 feet tall and decided to climb up. There were gaps that made good footholds. Kelly got up quickly and then I tried to get up. Actually, the getting to the top wasn't hard. But I asked for Kelly's hand and when I got to the top (pretty quickly), I somehow fell and came down hard on a big, sharp, white rock that was stuck in the ground - right below my right knee. It hurt so bad I thought I was going to throw up. It took a couple minutes for the nausea to pass. The place where I hurt my leg quickly bruised and swelled up. It stuck out as far as my knee. I joked that it looked like I had two knees on my right leg.

When we decided that we were ready to move on, I said that I probably couldn't jump back down those 3-4 feet with my leg hurting like it was. So I found a very narrow, overgrown path that lead away from the lake and dam and back to the path. If only I'd seen that path before trying to climb the wall, but it was pretty well hidden.

We then got back in the car (because the walk to the next area we wanted to go to was about 2.5 miles away) and drove over to Hagan-Stone Park a few miles away and made the walk over to that side of Company Mill where the creek is. Such a pretty, peaceful spot. We saw a couple deer take off in the woods when we got to the creek. I didn't try to take a picture since I knew that with all the trees and them moving you probably wouldn't be able to see the deer in the picture.
 
 

 
It's been almost a month and my leg is still bruised and I can't put pressure on it without it hurting.

--------------------

About 2-3 weeks ago, we started having a hard time getting Milo to eat. If I added something new to his food (he's supposed to be eating prescription food for his liver - hepatic), like rice or corn, he would get excited about his food and eat most of it. But after 2 or 3 days, he would stop eating it and I'd have to find something else to add to his food. Eventually he was eating almost nothing. He had a regular appointment (yearly check up) on February 21st and I told them about him not eating. He had lost nearly a pound in those couple weeks. Nearly every test (blood, urine, feces) came back normal and his heart sounded good. The only thing that came back not so good was his liver values are elevated more than last year (he has liver disease), but not so much that he's in liver failure or so bad that he would stop eating. So we don't know why he wasn't eating.

Charlie started giving him boiled chicken tenders about a week ago and he's loved that, but I really wish he'd start eating his dog food again. Protein isn't good for his liver.

Last Saturday, he seemed kind of lethargic most of the day and hadn't had much energy in the weeks that he wasn't eating much (naturally), but he's back to full energy now - barking, running, playing.

He's supposed to have an ultrasound done this Friday so they can see his liver.

Milo turned 13 this past September. I think Jack Russell's typically live 12-15 years, so we know he probably doesn't have much time left. I'm praying he'll be with us for at least another year though. I saw my husband's eyes fill with tears a couple times when things were looking really bad for Milo. Not only am I not ready to lose Milo (not that you're ever ready to lose a pet), but I don't want Charlie to lose him. He loves Milo so much. That's his buddy.

--------------------

Other than the clothing items I bought with my birthday money, here are purchases I've made since my last blog entry.

Talbot's dress. Bought from someone on Poshmark. (This is her picture.) Originally $149. I paid $45.87 after shipping and tax.

L.L. Bean dress. Bought from someone on Poshmark. (This is her picture.) Originally around $100, I think. I paid $35.20 after shipping and tax.

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Cat Sitting, Flat Tire, Chandeliers, and Pregnancy Update

Back in late October and early November, Sean and Ashley had to have their floors redone. They brought their cat Rowan (they often call him Ro Ro) to our house so he wouldn't be in the way or get out. 
 
They also have a cat named Ollie. He's a big, orange tabby and is/was a stray in their neighborhood. He's now their indoor/outdoor cat. He comes inside in the evenings and sleeps inside with them. He's a sweet boy and loves Sean to death. Follows him around, sleeps on or near him, meows at him. They don't know how old he is, but he appears to be older.
 
Rowan (also an orange tabby) is their wild child. They found him outside the church doors one day a year or so ago when he was a kitten. They tried to find him a home, but no one they knew wanted him and then they fell in love with him.

Anyway, we kept him away from Milo and Loki for awhile (Rowan had also come here a month or so before that while their floors were being checked), but then we let him roam the house. Just when Rowan and Loki started warming up to each other and were kind of starting to play together, it was time for Rowan to go home. He didn't warm up to Milo because Milo is a lot to take lol (and Rowan's never been around dogs before), but maybe he would have eventually. Milo loves playing with cats.
 
Rowan on my bed.

 --------------------
 
I had written in my post "2023" that I hurt my arm when we were in the mountains on October 18th and that it had gotten worse. I ordered a couple braces from Amazon (one for carpal tunnel and one for tennis elbow) that arrived on December 29th and they really helped. My arm hardly ever hurts now.
 
---------------------
 
On January 7th or 8th, Charlie noticed that my rear driver's side tire was going flat. I think he said something about a belt or something coming loose inside of it?? Yesterday, he went to the tire store and bought two tires for the back of the car. He wanted to replace all four, but that was going to cost over $1000 (yikes!), so he just bought two for now.

--------------------

When I went to the church last night to clean the sanctuary (I also check lights, thermostats, and make sure doors that should be locked are locked throughout the building), I saw that they had hung three new chandeliers in the foyer. Before leaving, I took a few pictures. I flipped the light switch on and was nearly blinded. lol They probably won't have to turn them on on sunny days.

The closed doors on the right are the sanctuary doors. The opened door is to a hallway where the bathrooms, nursery, daycare, a side sanctuary door, and gym/Spanish church are. The closed door to the left is the utility/cleaning supplies room. The glass door (a set of two French doors) lead to what will be a patio area. The wooden structure on the left is the cafe where you can get cookies, cakes, drinks (coffee and water), etc.
 

--------------------

Ashley and baby seem to be doing well so far. She's about 27 weeks pregnant now. She had her gestational diabetes test this past Thursday, but hasn't gotten the results back yet. She'll probably get them tomorrow. I had GD with Kelly, but didn't really have any issues with it. I still ate chocolate (my biggest craving when I was pregnant with her), but didn't overdo it and my numbers stayed good.

Friday, August 19, 2022

Accident, Sore Ankle, Sickness, DNA Update

The last week of July, Ashley started feeling bad. She had pain in the right side of her abdomen. Thankfully, it wasn't appendicitis. The doctor said it was a pulled muscle. After a few days on medication, she started feeling better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I went to vacuum the church on Saturday, July 30th, the flooring in the foyer was mostly complete. I took a couple pictures of it.
 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday, August 2nd, Charlie was rear-ended on his way home from work. The person in front of him had suddenly decided to turn, so Charlie hit his brakes. The person behind Charlie hit Charlie and caused the work truck he was driving to hit the person in front of him. The person Charlie hit drove off. There is some damage to the back of the truck. They're still waiting for insurance to make a decision about damage, cost, etc. Charlie had some pain in his neck and maybe back, so he went to the doctor for that the next day. He's on medication for the pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday, August 9th, my right ankle started hurting badly. By that evening and the next day, I was having to slide/drag my right leg along and I was moving in what felt like slow motion. Taking a shower took a little longer than usual (I didn't realize how often I turn in the shower lol) and getting up after sitting for a little while was almost agony. I'd say an 8 on a scale of 1-10. Barely touching the area above the inside/left side of my right ankle was and is unbearable.

I went to the doctor on Thursday, August 11th. They did x-rays (no injury) and then the doctor felt/rubbed/squeezed my leg, achilles, and ankle (gently). He believes it's tarsal tunnel syndrome and prescribed naproxen. It has helped with the pain and I can walk normal again, but just because it doesn't hurt to walk doesn't mean it's better. (It still hurts so bad to touch above the inside of my ankle.) I do an exercise I read about online (rotate ankle/foot clockwise and counterclockwise 5 times each) and I sometimes wear an ankle brace. It can take 2 weeks to 6 months to heal. If things don't improve, the doctor said I could go to an orthopedic doctor for steroid shots in my ankle. I really don't want to do that. Just the thought of a needle in my ankle - no.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie started feeling sick with a sore throat this past Wednesday morning. (Or maybe it started the previous evening.) When he came home from work, he was feeling worse - fever (100.5), sore throat, headache, chills, tired. I told him he shouldn't go to work the next morning. He was still feeling bad when he woke up and so he stayed home. (Though thankfully his temperature was only 99.2.) A home covid test was positive. He went to CVS before 1:00 PM to be tested there, but hasn't gotten the results yet. They said they'd text him. 
 
Yesterday evening, he said his chest was starting to hurt. I told him that if it got worse or if he started coughing or had trouble breathing that he would need to go to the ER. He used the oximeter we have and his blood oxygen was about 94 or 95.
 
Kelly and I are avoiding him. She stays in her room. I usually come to my office, which is on the opposite end of our house, or the kitchen if I'm cooking. I told Charlie to wear a mask if Kelly and I are in the same room or area of the house that he's in. Usually we just sort of pass through the room he's in (the living room) and try not to linger. I'm using hand sanitizer and spraying the house with disinfectant spray. I'm going to wipe everything down with wipes tonight. I sprayed the remotes with disinfectant spray and wiped them with hand sanitizer when he went to bed for a nap yesterday afternoon.

A woman who works at his job (I forget what she does) came to his office on Monday or Tuesday and then ended up testing positive for covid. So he thinks he probably got it from her. 
 
There are only about a half dozen or so people who work where Charlie works. It's a place where cranes are fixed and maintained. The two women who work there are in HR or mail/delivery/orders/secretary positions. Charlie worked on cranes for years, but he's been a manager there since 2016. He still helps out with the cranes when they need an extra helping hand.

Anyway, I hate that he's sick and I hate that I'm having to avoid him. I like eating supper with him each night, watching TV with him, looking at our phones together (lol), sharing funny or interesting videos or articles we see on our phones, talking. We're still in the same house and it's only been a couple days, but I miss him.

I'm praying Kelly and I don't get it. If Kelly's ever had it, she had no symptoms or light symptoms. I've been sick once or twice where I thought afterwards that I might have had it, but it wasn't horrible (bad, but not horrible; kind of like a bad cold/sinus infection) and I didn't get tested. To be safe though, I did stay home those one or two times I might have had it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ancestry has a new DNA update. These are our new ethnicity estimates:
 

My results. Finland hasn't been a part of my ethnicity estimate since the first results I got. (Current estimate is my 7th.) I was like, "Hey, Finland's back!"
 


Charlie's results.
 

My mom's results.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I finally finished reading Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon on August 9th. I started reading it on November 24th! This is the first Outlander series book that was mostly boring. I really struggled to finish it. I stopped reading it in April or May and read the 5th book in the Surviving the Evacuation series. Then picked Bees back up in June. If I didn't love the characters so much and if it weren't the 9th book in what will be a 10-book series, I probably wouldn't have read past the halfway mark. I gave it 2.5 stars out of 5 at GoodReads.

After Bees, I started reading Under the Gray Skies by Jacqueline Druga. It was so bad that I couldn't finish it. The plot might be good, but the writing was awful and the spelling errors were too much. She misspelled "lightning" twice just a couple paragraphs apart as "lightening". The last straw (after many previous straws) was when she wrote something like, "I thought I was going to throw up. I really did. But I didn't." I rolled my eyes, groaned, thought "Oh, my God" so many times because of the bad writing. I DNF'd it at page 25.

I'm now reading Turbulent (Days of Want #1) by T.L. Payne. It started off a little rocky, but it's gotten better. I'm not far enough along to decide if I'll continue the series, but I'm liking it better than Bees and Under the Gray Skies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clothes purchased since my last entry:
 
 
I bought this to go with the plain green Talbots dress I bought a couple months ago. This sweater is also by Talbots. I ordered it from ThredUp through eBay. I paid less than $29 after tax. Shipping was free. (This is ThredUp's photo.) The flowers are also on the back of the sweater.
 
 
 
I bought this from someone on Poshmark. (This is their photo.) This skirt is Lauren Ralph Lauren. I paid $23.48 after shipping and tax.


I bought this from someone on Poshmark. (This is their photo.) Sweater by Tahari. I paid less than $16 after shipping and tax.


I bought this from someone on eBay. (This is their photo.) Sweater by Max Studio. I paid $34 and change after shipping and tax.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*