New Year, Church Changes, and Family Loss

 

New Year's Eve, Kelly and I cleaned the church sanctuary. We got to the church between 6:00 and 6:30 PM and left the church around 9:00. I wasn't sure I'd be able to go to church the next morning since I'd been sick (I was feeling quite a bit better), but I was glad to get it looking nice for those who would be there. Thankfully, I was able to go. 

 

Our New Year's service was beautiful and anointed. We sang Freedom (Jesus Culture?) and Goodness of God, prayed, took communion, and Pastor preached a great message about praying for God to do things through us and not just to us or for us.

I usually get on my computer on Saturday nights. When it was getting close to midnight, Charlie asked if I wanted to watch the ball drop. So I went into the living room and watched it. Then I got back on my computer.

Real exciting New Year's Eve. ;-) :-D

 

HAPPY 2023!

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I got most of the groceries at Food Lion after church on New Year's Day. Because I'd been sick, I hadn't bought groceries since the 23rd. We were getting pretty low on some things. I got the rest of the groceries the next day at Walmart and put gas in the car. There were a few things I couldn't find at Food Lion or Walmart, so we went to Target (after leaving the closed DMV) to get those items.

I was going to pay the taxes on my car and Charlie's hauler on Monday, but the DMV was closed for the holiday. So I paid them online last night.

 

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I mentioned church a few paragraphs ago. New flooring was put in the foyer last year and new carpet in the sanctuary in 2020. Now they're putting new flooring in other parts of the building. The carpet was taken out of the classroom hallway and vinyl plank flooring will be put in. Right now it's just the cement floor. The new flooring has been put in the daycare, which is on the opposite side of the building. I wonder if that means it will also be put in the hallway on that side of the building. Right now it's the same tile that's been there since our church was built in the early 2000s.

I'll try to remember to take pictures of the classroom hallway and maybe the daycare when I go to the church to clean the sanctuary on Saturday.

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Yesterday evening, my aunt Wanda passed away. She was my mom's oldest sister. She was 76 years old.

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I last posted about new songs on my iPod in April. Here are the songs I've gotten since then.

 

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Hopes, Dreams, and Goals for 2019

I thought I didn't really have any hopes for this year, but then I got to thinking and realized that I do. lol

So, here they are in no particular order. My hopes, dreams, and goals for 2019.


1. That God will heal my friend Joni of cancer. Things are not looking good right now.

2. That my kids will figure out what they want to do with their lives, pursue it, and succeed.

3. That we will do what needs to be done to our house to get it ready to sell. There are repairs, touch-up painting, de-cluttering, and rearranging that needs to be done.

4. If we put our house back on the market this year, that it will sell for what the asking price will be (or more) and that we can move to a bigger place in the country with some land and no close neighbors. I want a room for my library and I need a bigger kitchen with more counter space.

5. Pray more and read my Bible more.

6. Try to read more books.

7. I'd love for our church to grow spiritually and physically.

8. Be healed of PCOS and all symptoms gone. I want my hair back (normal thickness and several more inches in length), excess weight gone, better skin, risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart attack gone, etc.

9. That my kids will get closer to God.

10. That Charlie will get a raise and be able to get the truck he needs.

11. Finally tackle my closet and be able to bring myself to get rid of some things. There are clothes I haven't worn in quite awhile, but I'm having a hard time getting rid of them. lol

12. If I could finally break through some of the brick walls in my family tree, that would be awesome!

I could possibly add more to this if I thought long enough, but I'm going to stop here.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Happy New Year! And 2018 Meme.

Happy New Year! I wonder what 2019 will bring us.

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1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before?

Nothing comes to mind.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't make new year's resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes. Our cat Sadie. She had days, maybe hours left, so I brought her to the emergency vet and had her put to sleep so she wouldn't suffer. She was 16 years old.

5. What countries did you visit?

None. :-/

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018?

A bigger home so that I can have a room just for my library. And a death-free year in my home and family.

7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

July 3rd. The day Sadie died.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I shopped a lot less than I have in years past.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not reading my Bible enough or praying enough.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Books, food, and Loki stuff. :-)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

None that I can think of.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

None that I can think of.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Bills and groceries.

15. What did you get excited about?

Church, some Panthers games, going to the mountains in October.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2018?

Way Maker, Holy King of Israel, King of Glory, Lord You are my Song, My God Fights for Me, The Other Side, Speak the Name, This Place, What Your Mercy Did for Me, Your Great Name.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder?

Same.

ii. richer or poorer?

Same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Pray, read my Bible, travel.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Nothing comes to mind.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

I spent it with my husband and my kids. My brother came by for a couple hours. My mom had to work.

21. What was your favorite TV program?

There's a list in the right margin of my blog. Scroll down. :-)

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don't hate anyone.

23. What was the best book you read?

That's a hard choice. Either Thunderhead or A Reaper at the Gates. A few others were also really good.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Just a couple days ago I heard a song for the first time called So Will I by Cross Worship. I can't get enough of it!

25. What did you want and get?

Books, just a few items of clothing, and Loki stuff.

26. What was your favorite film of this year?

 Maybe The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I didn't watch many movies last year.

27. What did you do on your birthday?

Nothing. My daughter Kelly's birthday is the day after mine, so we focus on her.

28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?

Classic, feminine, lady-like in the spring and summer. Still feminine, but with some touches of leather (vest, jackets), denim (skirts), military-style jackets (a couple green ones and a camo one), and biker-type boots in the fall and winter. And, of course, beautiful dresses and tops and skirts with heels for church on Sundays.

29. What kept you sane?

Prayer and faith in God.

30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Tom Hiddleston, Aneurin Barnard, Orlando Bloom, Jude Law.

31. What political issue stirred you the most?

None really. I'm not into politics. Though I do vote.

32. Who did you miss?

My Sadie May.

33. Who was the best new person you met?

I didn't meet anyone new that I can recall.

34. Tell a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018.

Nothing comes to mind.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Happy New Year!

Happy 2018!!

I'm mostly going to take it as it comes. I do plan on reading the Bible through this year. I've started a few times before, but never read the whole thing. I've read most of it though. Those begats can really slow you down. lol Some books in the Bible I've read multiple times. It's mostly the minor prophets I haven't read all of and most of Isaiah and Jeremiah. My church is doing a read-through together, so I've joined in.

It'd be nice to get our house sold and buy a new (to us) house. I say that most years and we've yet to put our house back on the market. Maybe someday. We still want a bigger place in the country. It's just the hassle of trying to sell (and keep the house looking nice for house hunters) that we dread. Charlie's been doing some repairs lately. If he keeps that up and we get everything done that needs to be done, then maybe we can put the house on the market by spring or summer. We're really bad about procrastinating though. :-/

As for what we did on New Year's Eve, Sean and I went to church at our regular Sunday service time (11:00 AM). Mom was there, too. Kelly wasn't feeling well and Charlie stayed home with her. Our church did communion (always makes me cry) and I brought a couple communion juice/cracker cups home for Charlie and Kelly.

I was on Facebook when it turned midnight. Missed the ball drop. :-/ But I kissed Charlie a couple minutes after midnight and told my family "Happy New Year" (including our pets lol) before telling my friends and family on Facebook.

Charlie's off work today and will hopefully get the hall bath done. He scraped the popcorn off the ceiling a few days ago (it was coming off in a couple small places) and has been doing some patching, sanding, and painting. He did our master bath several months ago. Our closet needs to be done next. A bad leak during a heavy rain storm caused a large area of the popcorn to peel away/fall off a few years ago and that hasn't been fixed yet. Mostly because it's going to be such a pain to take everything out of the closet. There's so much in it.

I reckon that's it for now. I'll do my annual books and movies of the year soon.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Christmas and New Year

We had a very nice Christmas. After opening presents, my mom came over and brought Sean's girlfriend Ashley with her. We gave them their gifts and Mom gave us ours from her and then I started Christmas dinner. We had originally planned to do a roast chicken with stuffing, etc., but Mom said she'd like something different. So, I made Lidia Bastianich's Chicken en Guazzetto (sp?) and penne with homemade marinara sauce (also a Lidia Bastianich recipe, only her recipe doesn't call for onions and I put onions in mine). My mom brought green beans. The food was really good. We may have eaten a little too much. lol

I had thought about going to see the new Star Wars movie that night, but Kelly wasn't feeling well. So, then we were going to see it the next day, but I woke up not feeling well and didn't even go vacuum the church like I usually do on Saturdays. I also missed church on Sunday and Wednesday night. :-(

We were finally able to go see it last night and we all (me, Charlie, the kids, Ashley) loved it!


Christmas gifts this year:

I (we) got my mom a purple faux leather jacket, four purple glass dessert bowls by Pioneer Woman, and a Cam Newton (the Carolina Panthers' quarterback) T-shirt. I gave her the jacket and bowls a couple weeks ago because I couldn't wait. lol

I got my husband a black dress shirt for church. There's something else I was wanting to get him (black leather jacket with a gray hood, by Levi's), but didn't. I'd still like to get it for him.

Charlie and I got Kelly a new mattress for her bed (she picked it out and loves it), two sweaters she wanted, red Vans she asked for, a plush black blanket for her bed (looked everywhere and couldn't find one; had to order it from Amazon), film for her instant camera (I put it in her stocking), and, in her stocking, candy, gum, and Burt's Bees wild cherry lip moisturizer.

For Sean, two video games (FallOut 4, Need for Speed), Carolina Tar Heels ankle socks, a Carolina Panthers trash can (he asked for one), a Carolina Panthers calendar, Carolina Panthers plush blanket, and, in his stocking, a multi-tool/knife, candy, and gum.

I also got a gift for both kids to share - a table top air hockey game. They love it. :-)

Charlie got me a new camera. A Nikon DSLR. I love it. Now I have to figure out how to use it. lol

Mom got me a set of red dishes by Pioneer Woman. I had bought one set already, but needed a second set in order to have eight each of dinner plates, salad/dessert plates, and bowls. I love my new dishes! She also gave me some money. She gave Charlie and the kids money, too.

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As I mentioned earlier, we saw the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, last night. Awesome movie! I was a little worried that it wouldn't be as good to me as so many other people were saying (a lot of my friends had already seen it and said it was "awesome", "magical", etc., on Facebook), but I loved it!

After seeing the movie, we came back home and after a few minutes, Sean, Ashley, and I went to the church to pray in the new year. It was a great prayer service. When we left the church, we went to Steak and Shake to get some food to go (I just got small fries and water), dropped Ashley off at her house, and then came home.

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So, now it's 2016. I know we say it every year, but it really is hard to believe that the new year is already here. Twelve months felt more like six.

I hope anyone who reads this has a blessed new year. I wonder what this year will bring us. Charlie mentioned a couple months ago that he'd like to put our house on the market again. (We had it on the market from November 2007 to November 2008. We got a few bites, but each time the buyers chose another house.) So, we may be doing that this year. No other big plans really. Well, other than buying a house if we sell this one. And then there's vacation in September. That seems really far away. Maybe we'll take a quick weekend trip some time before that.

Hopes for 2015

Just as with the memes I've done recently and my books and movies entry, this too is an annual blog entry for me. My hopes and dreams for the year.

1. That Charlie will get back in church with me and our kids.

2. That my brother will come to church more regularly (rather than just a few times a year) and that his wife and their boys will also start coming.

3. Healing for my body - PCOS gone.

4. To read more books this year than I did last year.

5. To pray more and read my Bible more.

6. That everyone in my family who quit church/serving God so many years ago will finally come back to God and that those who haven't given their lives to God yet will do so this year.

7. That this will be a healthy, godly, and prosperous year for me and my family.

8. That our regular church attendance will finally reach 400 and not just on Easter or other special occasions. We're not too far from it now. We average between 340 and 360 on Sundays. This time last year we were averaging about 260-300.

9. That everyone who quit going to our church over the years (and still live in Greensboro) will come back. We love them and miss having them in church with us.

10. To be a better wife and mother. Not that I'm a bad one now. lol I'm actually a pretty good one. Or so they tell me. Haha. But there's always room for improvement, right?

11. To be a little less of a "nocturnal queen". lol I was doing pretty good there for awhile. (Well, pretty good for me anyway.) But now I'm back to my old late-night ways. There's just something about the stillness of the middle of the night. The peace and quiet that introverts like me crave. I can focus on the things I really enjoy doing - reading, blogging, working on the family tree, or whatever else I desire - without having to worry about a loud TV or noisy people (outside and inside) or phone calls/texts or someone coming to the door, etc. The dogs still bark sometimes, but I reckon you can't always have things exactly how you want them. lol

Hopes for 2014

1. That my husband will get back in church with me and our kids.

2. That my husband and I will be able to take that trip to Hawaii we're hoping for this year.

3. Healing for my body.

4. To pray more and read my Bible more.

5. That the rest of my family who haven't given their lives to God yet will do so this year and that the ones who've walked away from God will come back.

6. That my kids will grow closer to God.

7. That this year will be a healthy, godly, and prosperous one for me and my family.

8. To read more books than I did last year.

Christmas, Family Tree, and Happy New Year!

Charlie flew home from Oklahoma the Monday before Christmas. It was great to have him home.

Christmas Eve, the kids opened their stockings. Candy and gift cards (Apple, iTunes, Barnes and Noble) for both, and an eye mask for Kelly that says, "up all night".

For Christmas, we got Kelly an iPod Touch (I think that's what it's called). She had asked for an iPhone 4, but the man who helped Charlie and I at the Apple store told us that the iPod Touch could hold more and it costs less. I had told Kelly back when she asked for an iPhone 4 that if we got her one that that would be all she got for Christmas because they cost so much. She was perfectly fine with that.

We got Sean some PS3 games. At $60 a piece (more than that after taxes), that was all we got him for Christmas. It's all he asked for and he's more than happy. :-)

Charlie and I didn't get each other anything. I told him to put whatever he would normally spend on me for Christmas aside to be used for that trip to Hawaii (2nd honeymoon) we're hoping to take this year.

Charlie flew back to Oklahoma yesterday. I hope he won't have to be gone as long this time.

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I've been working on the family tree at Ancestry.com for a few years now. I've never been able to get anywhere with Charlie's dad's side. I only knew Charlie's dad's name and Charlie's dad's mom. Until yesterday.

One of Charlie's cousins (I had never heard of her until yesterday) tagged Charlie's sister Sheila in several old family photos she'd posted at Facebook. I saved the pictures to my computer and printed them out. I also sent her (Theresa) a friend request, which she quickly accepted. I asked her if she knew who Charlie's dad's dad was and she was able to tell me. (Theresa's dad and Charlie's dad were half-brothers - same mom, different dad.) As soon as I got his name entered into the family tree at Ancestry.com, a hint leaf popped up. From there, I found records about him and his parents and on back.

I'm so happy to finally have that side of my husband's family tree filled in. And it just keeps going. It's great not to have to look at empty brackets there anymore. I'm back to the late 1700s now and hint leaves are on nearly every new name I've entered. I can't wait to find out more, including what country they came over from.

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Well, we're just four hours away from the new year here on the American east coast. 2013 was a pretty good year for my family. I pray 2014 will be even better.

Happy New Year!

May 2013 be a year of joy, love, peace, good health, blessing, and faith.


My hopes and desires for the year:

1. A spiritual hope for my husband and our family.

2. A spiritual hope for my daughter.

3. Healing for my body.

4. Vacation in Southport, NC, (or the Outer Banks) this summer.

5. To pray more and read my Bible more.

6. To read more books than I did last year.

7. That my kids and I would improve and grow in our homeschooling efforts.

8. That we can put our house on the market again this year, that it will sell, that we will make a profit, and that we can then buy the kind of house in the country that we want to grow old in.

Hopes for 2012

1. A spiritual hope for my husband and our family.

2. A spiritual hope for my daughter.

3. Healing for my body.

4. Vacation in Southport, NC, this summer.

5. To pray more and read my Bible more.

6. To read more books than I did in 2011.


2011 -- The first one finally happened in April, after more than a year. The third one happened in May. The fourth one happened in the spring.

2010

2009

Happy New Year!

May you all have a blessed, healthy and prosperous 2012!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

As it does every New Year's, this past year seems to have flown by. I have high hopes for 2011. After the emotional hell that was the majority of 2009, I entered 2010 also feeling hopeful. There were many downs in 2010 and many tears, but I also grew spiritually. Though things weren't made right last year as I hoped and expected them to be, God gave me peace and strength to endure. I've learned a lot through all of this. I'm expecting God to set some things in motion this year (if He hasn't already) and to finally bring about the end of this trial I've been going through by finally making things right and whole and good again.

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Kelly and I went to the church last night to pray in the new year. (Sean is in Raleigh again. :-/ ) There weren't as many people there as I expected there to be, but it was a great time of prayer.

Looking forward to church tomorrow. Between sickness and snow, we missed several services in December. I'm ready to get back into making it to church every service again. I've missed it. We may go see Tangled after church.

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And now for more of Proverbs:

19:5, 9, 11, 14 "5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. ... 9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. ... 11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger [a man's wisdom gives him patience]; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression [and it is to his glory to overlook an offense; he earns respect by overlooking wrongs]. ... 14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent [discreet; virtuous; understanding] wife is from the Lord."

19:16, 20, 22 " 16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul [keep the commandments and keep your life]; but he that despiseth his ways shall die [despising the commandments leads to death]. ... 20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. ... 22 The desire of a man is his kindness [what a man desires is unfailing love and loyalty]: and a poor man is better than a liar."

19:26-28 " 26 He that wasteth [robs; mistreats; assaults] his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach. 27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge. 28 An ungodly [corrupt; worthless; untruthful] witness scorneth judgment [mocks justice]: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity [gulps down evil; seizes evil eagerly]."

May you all have a blessed, successful, wonderful, glorious, stupendous, love-filled, joyful 2011!

Hopes for 2011

It's that time of year again when people start making their resolutions for the New Year. I don't make resolutions. I make a list of hopes for the year. You can find last year's list by clicking here. Some things on last year's list are also on this year's list.

Here is my list for 2011:

1. My number one hope is the same as last year's. That Charlie will be home more.

2. I hope God heals me of PCOS or that a cure is found.

3. We didn't get to go on vacation this past year. I really missed visiting my hometown of Southport, NC. Hopefully we can make it there this year.

4. I have no intentions of ever giving up on the hope and the dream and the desire for the situation I've been in for so long to improve. I pray God continues to give me the strength I need to hold on and to stand for what's right.

5. I thought I would read more than 12 books in 2010, but I didn't. The problem was that almost half of the books I read weren't all that interesting. I'm going to try to read more in 2011. Hopefully the reading choices I make this coming year will be much harder to put down. The first two books of 2011 are books I started this year - The Diary of Anne Frank and The Enchantress of Florence. I will try to finish them before starting a new book.

6. I'm going to try to take better pictures this year. I love photography and it's my hope that my new camera (thank you again, my husband!) will help me with my picture-taking.

7. Though I've grown much closer to God over the last year, I would like to draw even closer to Him. I cannot begin to tell how much He has helped me and comforted me and strengthened me. He saved my life in every way that a life can be saved. I owe Him my all.

8. It is my greatest desire that my family will draw closer to God as well. I long to have them serving God by my side - going to church with me, praying, reading their Bibles, worshipping God and obeying Him. I don't push. I pray for them and I try to be a good example.


There are other hopes and dreams I have that I can be more patient with. They can happen this year or next or the year after that. Just as long as they do happen.

New Sheets and High Cats

The kids and I spent New Year's Eve at home. We watched some TV and saw the ball drop. I got a little choked up and had to hold back my tears as I saw people kissing the New Year in. I wish Charlie had been here to kiss the New Year in with me. :-(

We got groceries yesterday. After which we picked up a pizza for supper from Mario's and brought it home. I then fell asleep on the couch watching TV (shocker) and woke up about an hour later to Sean playing a video game.


I had a little chunk of money left over from Christmas, so the kids and I went to Target today so that I could buy some sheets for my bed. I bought the same sheets (Mon Ami, by Simply Shabby Chic) for my daughter either for her last birthday (February '09) or for Christmas the year before. I thought they were so pretty and comfortable that I wanted some just like them, but I figured Charlie wouldn't want to sleep on pink sheets with little pink flowers on them. When I had mentioned this to him, he said that he didn't care what the sheets look like as long as there are sheets on the bed. lol So today I bought them. Now I just need to buy the quilt that goes with them. It's $100 before taxes though, so it may be a few weeks.

Target also has a set of sheets with blue stripes on them that I'd like to get. They too are by Simply Shabby Chic.


Our cat Sam never uses either of the cat condos we have in our house for scratching. He likes to scratch boxes and books. :-/ This morning he woke me up scratching on the spines of my photo albums (his first time as far as I know; there is no damage that I can see), which sit on the bottom shelf of my bookcase. *insert angry face here*

So when the kids and I went to Target today, I also bought a scratch pad for Sam. It lays on the floor and is made of cardboard, just like the boxes Sam likes to scratch. The scratch pad came with a packet of cat nip, which I sprinkled and rubbed into the cardboard. Sadie was the first to investigate. She looooved it. She was rubbing it and laying on it. Evie was next to investigate and had the same reaction. I hope they don't develop a nip addiction. Sam looked at them like, "What is wrong with you?" because apparently cat nip doesn't affect him the same way. He sniffed at the nip-laced scratch pad and walked away. He probably would've shrugged if he could have.


I've had a somewhat lazy day today. In addition to going to Target, I've been doing laundry and will clean the kitchen soon. Hopefully I can get the tree and other Christmas decor taken down and put away in the next couple days. That's right. The tree is still up.


School starts back on Monday. The kids are dreading it and looking forward to it at the same time. So am I. I hate early mornings and I do still worry about my kids when they're not with me (does that ever go away?), but I also want them to be educated and prepared for adulthood.

Happy New Year!

I may not be online later when the new year rolls around, so I'm sending out Happy New Year wishes to you all now.

I wish I could kick 2009 in the teeth on its way out. What a crappy year it was for me. At times, absolute hell. It started off very well. Those first four months were wonderful. Then things turned on a dime and the wonderful was gone. There's one reason why things went bad and I sincerely pray that that one reason gets fixed very soon.

I don't want to end this entry on that note, so again, Happy New Year to you all. Here's hoping 2010 is infinitely better than 2009.