Christmas and such

I made it back to NC on Tuesday without any major glitches other than feeling like crap. The doctor confirmed my sinus infection but nothing could help me on the flight. My mom and sis picked me up from the airport and we did some shopping in Jacksonville before heading to Morehead. That night, Preston steamed oysters at the house and he and I managed to put down about 2 1/2 pecks...they were soooo good! Oysters are one of our newer holiday traditions and I hope they continue forever. Wednesday was spent wrapping presents and finishing the truly last minute shopping.


Being the child of divorce has its frustrating moments, but we seem to have the holidays down to a science. The weekend before Christmas is always spent with my dad's family, Christmas Eve is at my dad's and Christmas Day is at my mom's. I hate to see what happens if I ever actually meet someone...here's hoping their parent's are still together or I'll be able to make a movie myself! Both Christmases were really great and it was nice to be with the family. Christmas night holds another Carteret Co. tradition which is hitting the Beach Tavern (BT's) to see everyone who is home. This year we went to O'Malley's first and I got to see one of the biggest bar fights I've ever seen in my life. It was crazy and let's just say I think that will be my first and last trip to that place!! We went to BT's afterwards and there really were not a lot of people there. I have been there in the past when you could barely walk in the place but I guess that is a sign of getting older. Most people my age are married and starting families so the bar isn't really where they want to be on Christmas night.


Friday night we had our annual Christmas dinner with the friends. We ate at Ruddy Duck's and then headed over to Jack's for a few drinks. It was a really nice night and my $15 bar tab was even better. That is one thing I love about going home...you can hardly get 1 drink in West Palm for $15! Missy and I decided to head over to Cool Fish afterwards because Missy was craving sushi. That place was dead but she got her sushi and I got some pizza to cap off the night. I flew back to West Palm on Sat night and Dana and I went up to the Yard House to grab dinner and catch up on all that had happened since I'd been gone.


We are throwing a NYE party this year at Dana's clubhouse. Well, I should say she is really throwing it but my name is on the invitation since I live there, too! We are thinking about 100 people are going to be there so it should be a blast. I just found out last night that Ashley and Jennifer are driving down from NC tonight to be here for NYE and Ashley's b-day on the 2nd. I am so excited!! My ex is going to be there too so it will be the first time we have seen or spoken to each other in over 2 months. I'm hoping he will be nice and things will go smoothly but you never know with him. At least there will be plenty of other people there so we can tactfully avoid each other if we need to that night!


Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!! I'm sure there will be more good stories after the festivities this week :)

Being Sick SUCKS!!

As you may have guessed, I hate being sick. I returned from NC on Sat night with nothing less than a sinus infection. I tried to blame my sister for getting me sick but I'm sure it had a lot more to do with the plane, crazy weather, and the lack of sleep I've been getting lately. My head feels like it is on the verge of exploding at any moment and I'm not so sure I would mind if it did. Only good thing that came of this is that I finally stopped procrastinating and made a very long over-due appointment with an ENT. Here's hoping they decide to amputate my sinuses from my head...they do no good for me at all!

The whirl-wind trip (flew in Fri night and flew out Sat night) to Lincolnton was really great. As I have gotten older, I have learned to cherish time with my family more and more and certainly wish we got to see each other more often. I only have cousins on my dad's side of the family so it's always a pleasure to see them and catch up on life. I will have to admit that the late-night baking with my dad was my favorite part of the trip. We had a pretty long discussion about dating and my poor choices in boyfriends that doesn't get to happen very often. I just might be old enough now to actually listen and take some of his advice (though I'm still not sure about the whole online dating thing)!

Otherwise, the trip was great and I absolutely loved giving our money to charity rather than sitting around opening gifts that we really don't need. That is what Christmas should really be about people! I got back in time for a Champagne and Cookies party at Angela's on Sunday...though it turned into more of a feast than just cookies. I knew better but I was hoping that somehow I could drown my sinus pressure in champagne. A few bottles of bubbly into it, Angela and I discussed our visit with the psychics from the following week (we attended a fund raiser and they were offering readings for free). We both left the readings feeling really good about ourselves though it may have had more to do with the free wine than the actual reading. Dana and her sister, Colleen, enjoyed our stories so much that they decided they wanted readings as well...so off to downtown we went. They both liked their readings although they were a bit pricey and we got to enjoy some Kava as we waited. I still have no clue what Kava is but it tasted terrible and made my mouth and teeth numb which caused me to flashback to UNCW circa 1999.

[My camera is broken so you'll have to deal with previous pictures for now]

For those who don't know, this is Angela...And below is Colleen, Dana and Dana's other sister, Ashley...

Anyway, it was a random but fun day and night with the girls. I love my friends and my crazy life! I have my moments and sometimes let myself dwell too much on the bad stuff but then I remember how short life can be and how much I have to be grateful for and that usually sets me straight. Really, what do I have to complain about?? Not everyone has a great family, awesome friends (spread over several states), a good job, two places to call home, clothes to wear and food to eat. Really, what do I have to complain about??

Getting Started

Well, I created my blog on Monday and it is now Friday and I have yet to post anything. Since my brain is already in weekend mode, I figured I would try to create my first ever blog. I already have several great topics in mind but I think I'll just stick with some general stuff for today.

I am headed to NC tonight to do Christmas in Lincolnton with my dad's side of the family. We always get together the weekend before Christmas to do our thing. We have been drawing names for the last few years but due to the economy, we decided to take our gift money and give it to those less fortunate. I believe we are giving it to my grandparent's church who gets gifts every year for needy children. I feel good about this and have been wanting to do it for several years so I'm glad we are finally getting the chance to help others.

I haven't much been in the Christmas spirit. I am sure that is due to a number of things from being in warm Florida, not having my own house to decorate, being away from my family and because Christmas always makes me miss my grandmother, Bebe, even more than normal. This was her holiday and she always made Christmas Christmas at our house. She threw the best parties, cooked the best meals, told the funniest stories and gave the best presents. I know I'm blessed to have had her for 23 years and not having to watch her truly "grow old" but I still selfishly wish I had more time with her. I'm sure there will be several posts about her in the future so I'll just leave it at that for now.

I will try to figure out how to work this site and hopefully have some more entertaining stories for you next time but until then...salute!