Showcase, Self-Defense, Skiing, & Serving!
Happy New Year to everyone! I can’t believe it’s 2025! It feels like just yesterday that we were ringing in the New Year in 2000 when we thought the world was going to end because all the computers would have glitched out. What did we know back then? Brayden kicked off the month with her first ever official massage at the Ballantyne Spa, a wonderful gift given to her by Grandma and Grandpa Hall! I think she’s addicted now! We had the Bartleys over for dinner one night, which was awesome. The next day, much of the family got together for lunch at Aunt Patty’s house. It was great to see everyone and talk through some things. Trent and Brayden weren’t able to come that day because she was supposed to go skiing with a bunch of her friends from high school, but it actually snowed and we were a bit nervous about her driving by herself in conditions she was unfamiliar with, so he took one for the team and drove her and her friends up and back to Beech Mountain for the day. Very nice of you, Trent. The kids had an awesome time and he did too! Happy 47th birthday to you, Leslie. Wish I was there to celebrate with you in person, but it will be soon enough before we see each other and have lots to celebrate!
Hanleigh had her annual physical where she weighed 104 lb. (36%) and was 5’4″ (67%). The doctors think she may grow another inch or two, but not nearly as rapidly as she has in the last couple years. I’m sure she’ll plateau out soon. Brayden continues to enjoy hot yoga classes at the local YMCA and was recently inducted into the National Honor Society, a very noble group to be part of considering that over half of her senior class has a 4.0 GPA. She had her first official meeting now that she’s a new member. Trent took me on a surprise date night where we went to Prime Fish, sat at the sushi bar, and enjoyed some amazing seafood…the kind that just melts in your mouth. After that, we ventured to The Clubhouse, a local bar that is relatively new that had a DJ…the crowd was definitely middle-aged. I guess we fall into that demographic as well, although I don’t really see myself as being middle-aged—at least I don’t feel like it.
Kyle and I had lunch with Dad. It was good to see him, but involved some difficult conversations. There are little moments in your life where you learn a lot more about who you are as a person and you underestimate exactly how strong you are. This was one of those days. There’s something to be said about trusting your intuition. Never doubt it.
Sunday night is our dedicated family night and we watched The First Day movie, something I’ve been wanting all of us sit down and watch together. It is basically a documentary about a grown man who, went in high school, chose the wrong path and got addicted to drugs. The lesson in his message is that everyone is going through something and you should not judge anyone else, but you should also reach out to others to make sure they’re doing okay and be them there for them so they make the right choices. It was a very emotional and impactful video and I hope the girls learned a lot from watching it.
Hanleigh had her dance showcase at school where she performed in a number of routines that she had learned as part of her dance class. She did an awesome job! What is wonderful is that the teacher empowers the students to make up their own choreography to the music. I know she loved that class because she would come home and show us her routine as she learned it! I’m sure all the practicing she does on TikTok has prepared her for this. Each year, I’m reminded of Mimi and Dadaw’s wedding anniversary because it serves as a reminder of what an amazing marriage is and something to aspire to. They were married for so long and were so sweet and respectful to each other. Very admirable!
Tonya and I took an Igneus self-defense class one evening at the YMCA. We learned some really good core moves and tricks to kick major ass in the event we are ever attacked. From an open palm to the chest, chin, or nose and an elbow to the face, or a knee to the groin, we were empowered by the instructor to yell and do whatever it takes in simulated situations to escape and stay safe. We even learned how to flip someone on their back who is on top of you while you’re on the ground. However, my favorite move was how to get out of being in a chokehold simply by raising your arm next to your head and turning your body to break their grasp. Anyone that knows me knows that I feel like I was strangled in a former life or something and I cannot stand to have my neck touched, and I’m pretty sure anyone—no matter how big or small—would rue the day they met me if they even remotely got close to touching my neck! Needless to say, I will definitely sign up Brayden for that class before she goes to college. These are skills that anyone, male or female, need to know.
Now that Brayden is 18 and officially an adult, she had her first annual physical with her primary care physician. Pretty surreal, if you ask me. Of course, it did involve getting lab tests, which meant having her blood drawn…something that she is definitely not fond of. Hanleigh went to a birthday party for her friend that she met at camp, Mary Allison, and it was at Erin McDermott Jewelry, which was at a beautiful studio in the Elizabeth suburb and very bougie. After taking her there, I dropped her off at home and then went over to my mom’s house where she had a bunch of her friends over to celebrate her 73rd birthday. I end up playing the role of DJ and queuing up some jams, one of which was the requisite “Low” by Flo Rida, a song that she has been dancing to on tables or countertops for the last three years. Definitely a tradition! We helped her get on her own kitchen island and shake her booty and it was comical and heartwarming watching her in her element.
Trent went up to Beech Mountain for the day with Bunker and Fletch, two of his F3 friends who he also goes to Big Sky with every year. This is their warm-up before their big trip and they had a gorgeous bluebird day. While he was skiing, I took Brayden and Hanleigh shopping to Free People and Anthropologie and then we had a delicious dinner at Taco Boy. I had still owed Brayden her back-to-school-shopping day and it just took this long to make it happen. Myers celebrated his eighth birthday with some doggy ice cream while he donned a decorative sparkly hat. He’s our little buddy and we love him so much. Happy birthday! Hanleigh had another orthodontist appointment and I feel like she is so close to getting her braces off. It is kind of comical that the orthodontist never really mentions anything about the date they will come off. I’m sure she’s experienced too many teenagers being let down with a date that just keeps extending.
After a year of working as a hostess and then a food runner, Brayden has been given the opportunity to be a server. She had a week of intensive server training where she had to learn the menu, the various types of cocktails, beers, and wine, as well as a techniques that make someone a successful server. She’s definitely excited to make more money! I think everyone, at some point in their life, should be a server. It really makes you appreciate it when you are a patron at a restaurant. I enjoyed an awesome lunch at Postino, followed by pampering at Jai Foot Spa with Julie, a gift she had given me for Christmas. Time with her and going to a spa are two things I treasure, so it was an awesome way to celebrate our friendship during the MLK holiday. That night, was Mom’s actual 73rd birthday, so we took her to dinner at Napa and it just happened that it was restaurant week in Charlotte, so very timely. We came back to the house and enjoyed some cake and ice cream.
That Wednesday, we had our first snow day of the year, which naturally meant that school was closed. The kids enjoyed the middle-of-the-week break from school. That day, Charlie mysteriously injured her front left foot and no one has any idea how it happened. There was a huge chunk of skin ripped off and it was bleeding non-stop. For the next week or so, we had to keep it bandaged up and she did not want anything to do with the antiseptic or saline we were putting on it. That night, Kendall and I had dinner at Juniper Grill as part of our monthly get together, which we both adore so much. The next day, Trent attended an AI event in the Ballantyne area, which he said was remotely interesting. In other exciting and boring news, our washing machine crapped out and after weeks of it working only sort of, we bit the bullet and went ahead and bought a brand new washer and dryer. Even though the dryer was totally fine, we ended up donating it to someone who needs it. Brayden finally had her first shift as a server on a Sunday during brunch time and was so excited with the amount of money she made in just a few hours! She’s definitely looking forward to more shifts and hopefully will end up working on Friday or Saturday nights!
Julie, one of my faves, had a happy birthday as well! Love you, girl! Brayden’s field hockey team met for a photo so that it could be replicated on a mural wall at her high school. Pretty cool! We selected our parking for the NC State 2025 football season, which seems to get more expensive every single year! The games are really fun, but that season really puts a dent in our wallet! In very exciting news, Brayden heard back from three more of the colleges she applied to: UNC, where she was waitlisted and will hear back definitively in May; Miami, where she was accepted and received a $12k/year scholarship that took her tuition down to $78k (what a steal! HA!); and NC State, our alma mater!!! Let’s go Wolfpack! We wrapped the month up by meeting with our financial advisor and continued to understand how best to invest our money, which will ultimately (and hopefully) help us retire sooner!!!
Hanleigh-ism:
- “Mom, how much do you weigh and have you always been that small?” I responded, “Yes, because I have small bones.” She said, “No. Everyone’s bones are the same size.” I responded, “So you’re saying Travis Kelce has the same size bones as me?” She said, “Yes. He just has a lot more muscle.” I responded, “So, then that means that your little cousin Natalie has the same size bones as me? Or that a little baby fetus has the same size bones as me?” She responded, “Yes. You just get more muscle as you get older.”
Brayden-ism:
- “I pulled a Becca today.” I responded, “What does that mean?” She replied, “I found myself not knowing where my friends were on the ski slopes, so I just made friends with other random people on the lifts and skied with them for a few hours.”
- (she was dealing with a challenging situation with a friend) and said, “Mom, you are always really good about giving advice on how to navigate friendship challenges.”
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