Slowly Getting Things Done

I’m trying to stay on track with getting things done on my to do list.

I started in my kitchen. After all the Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking and baking I did, I felt like my kitchen was just nasty and grungy.  Not to mention, one night I was cleaning the fireplace and vacuuming all the ashes out of the bottom with the shop vac. Well, dear hubby came yelling in the living room for me to stop. I cut it off and turned around and looked at him through a cloud of smoke.  Obviously, the last time I used the shop vac I didn’t replace the bag. So, now my kitchen really needed scrubbing and so did my living room. 

My momma and daddy came to spend a day with us and my momma wanted something to do so…… we got busy in my kitchen.  I spent the day before scrubbing it down, walls, blinds, windows, crown molding,  baseboards,  cabinets, counters,  light fixtures, and appliances. Then my momma helped me organize my cabinets and drawers which was something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I parted with alot and packed up some to go into our camper when we get one in a few years.

Next came, cleaning out the grand kids closet of clothes. Getting out clothes they have outgrown and hanging up clothes they are growing into. Then going through toys they have out grown.

Then I finally got my living room scrubbed down. I am feeling accomplished.

It’s rained on and off for three days so inside work it was.  Next week is suppose to be cold but ok.  Maybe next week  will be some outside work. We will see.

I’m so ready to start planting some seeds indoors to get ready for gardening season.

Getting Back In The Groove

We're getting back into the swing of things.
Deer season has ended and we got the opportunity to put two deer in our freezer. Deer hubby processed them all by his self. He made is some breakfast deer sausage that is to die for.

Brunch. Butter fried biscuit, ham, egg, cheese,omelet,  and the best part......🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
Deer sausage that my sweetheart killed, processed,  and grinded all by himself. See what you can do when you teach yourself?

One dish, microwave breakfast casserole. Good way to finish up leftover  breakfast items.  Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk eggs, milk, seasonings, and anything you want to throw in like spinach,  peppers, onions, cheese...etc. Crumble up left over biscuits, toast, stale bread, dinner rolls, bagels, english muffins etc. Make sure it is soaked in the egg mixture.
Next, crumble left over meats like sausage, bacon, ham, bologna, spam, etc. Stir to make sure all is combined and soaked. Cover with shredded cheese.
Cover and place in microwave and cook til eggs are set. Wholah. Sorry, not sorry about the two bites already taken.  😂😂

Homemade Pizzas and Soda Stream

So I got a Soda Stream for Christmas.  Tonight was homemade pizzas and our own A W root beer and orange crush sodas. 😁😁😁🍕🍕🍕

Here is how I make our pizzas. 

I use the West Ladies recipe for pizza dough.  They have a blog called Homestead Blessings. They are also on Facebook,  Instagram and YouTube.  

I make my dough in my Kitch Aid Mixer while my pizza stones are preheating in the oven.  Then I  roll out the dough on parchment paper.  I then use our home made pasta sauce from our summer tomatoes and spread on the dough. I then spread all of our fixings on. I take my pizza peel and slide it under the paper and then take to the oven and slide it right off onto the pizza stone. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and wholah! 

I take my pizza peel and slide right back under the paper and place on a cutting board onto counter.

Gmaw Hacks For Us Grandmas

 I shared all these on Facebook  with alot of my friends who are grandmas and have their grandchildren alot with them. They loved them. It has even helped Jossie with the girls in her vehicle.

The first is:

Gmaw Hack:
Never, ever, ever, under any circumstances leave your house without a diaper bag. I don't care if you’re just going down the road. In case you forget, have a spare diaper bag with just the essentials. You never know when you will have car trouble or something or one has an exploding diaper. Just saying. 

Gmaw Hack:
Portable folding 5 point harness high chair. I had to do alot of research on this one to find the one I wanted.
When we have family cookouts, it is hard for the girls to sit in a big ole chair that does not fit them. We stack pillows or a blanket just for them to sit on but they wind up slipping out. Atleigh tries to sit on her knees but it starts to get uncomfortable after a bit.
These work great in restaurants. They clip onto the backs and bottoms of the chairs. This saves from having to get a high chair and take up floor space around the table. Caroline has got to where she will not stay in a high chair at a restaurant and climbs out. So…..that’s where the 5 point harness comes in. Keep that little booger in.  Some high chairs at restaurants are so low they cant reach the table.
It folds up for easy storage in the trunk and has a strap and handles for carrying.

Gmaw Hack:
Of course, an outing would not be complete without my Gmaw Mobile. Yes, it’s big, but there is no way I’m gonna try to hold or chase two babies. Especially in crowded areas. I do not have all the pieces on it. I just took it out of the back because I was cleaning and organizing my truck. I will do a whole tutorial on stroller hacks to create extra room. 

This is Atleighs carseat.
There is a reason for the puppy pads. Potty training.
I use one to cover the carseat in case of an accident. It has a plastic liner so the wetness want get to the carseat cushion. Those things are boogers to take out and wash.
I also have an extra set of clothes in spare diaper bag in the truck.

This is Carolines  car seat. When she starts potty training,  I will use the puppy pads too on hers.

Gmaw Hack:

I would like to go on record as saying I am a genius. I don't care what anyone says.
Caroline is still rear facing and cant watch movies in the truck sooo…
I took her back seat mirror and a command hook and stuck it on my light fixture in the very back. It is facing toward her and it reflects the DVD monitor.

Gmaw Hack:

DVD organizer for movies

Gmaw Hack:
Snack caddies for day trips.

Gmaw Hack:
Back seat hanging organizer. I have little prepackaged nonperishable snacks, wipes, puppy pads, packets of water flavoring for grab and go, sunblock, and some extra batteries for fans.

Gmaw Hack:
For stroller on hot days for outings. Mini battery operated fans for stroller. I use a binder clip and clip it onto the canopy.

Gmaw Hack:
Lap activity/food tray, and neck pillow. Gotta get one more of each for Caroline. Her seat is still kind of reclining so her head doesn't go forward as much when she sleeps. She can't draw or anything at this moment either.

Gmaw Hack:
Atleigh and Carolines backseat hanging organizer.
Toys, sunshades, hat, extra emergency cup, coloring book, coloring pencils and crayons. Carolines  has almost the same except for the coloring book and pencils. She is younger.

I hope y’all enjoyed my Gmaw Hacks for the day. The only time I’m helpless is if we are in Poppies truck. There is no way he can fit all that stuff in his and his attitude is:
“If we’re out with the girls and they need something, I’ll just stop and buy it.” 

David has always made fun of me me for having so much in my truck. My motto is:
“I’d rather have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it!!!” Cause that’s how I roll baby. 

New Year New Goals

Well, a new year is now upon us. We have been blessed and sometimes we are so undeserving. I don’t make new years resolutions, I just try to do better than the year before. Learn from mistakes made and make new goals. Last year I spent alot of time not feeling well and having so many tests run to try to get to the root of the problem that it kept me from enjoying life. This year I have new goals and I’m feeling somewhat better. I needed refreshing. I spent alot of time doing research on alot of issues my family was facing in their own lives that it took me away from blogging. I apologize. Some times you just have to prioritize. My families concerns came first (see previous post).

Our hunting season started back in the fall. Everyone was getting their bows ready and sighting in. We leased a property this year to open up our options. It turned out to be good because dear hubby brought home two deer in one morning this week.

We are avid hunters and we love to cook with venison. Dear hubby is going to get into processing our own deer this year. Well, he’s going to give it a try that’s for sure. We have all the equipment we need for him to try this new adventure. We only have a few more days to hunt as our season is coming to an end. Our oldest joined in this year and has done more hunting this year. He was the first of the season to bring one home to his family.

I figured this year I would leave the hunting up to them, one, because I have alot of projects on a to do list that I really am checking off. It feels good to do that. Second, when it starts getting colder it hurts my RA. They are in tree stands and  I can’t climb them.

I spent alot of time getting hooked on some ladies on YouTube too. They have alot of organizing and clean with me inspiring videos. Trust me, they inspired me to get some things done in my own home and off my list. I love  Jordan Page Jamerrill Stewart Beauty and the Beastons   

Kellys Corner Emily Norris The Elliot Homestead She’s In Her Apron The Family Fudge

I love all these ladies and they have given me alot of great ideas and inspiration.

I want to share a post today to help someone who might need a little organization in their lives if that is a goal you have this year.  I wanted to get my truck interior organized not just cleaned out. With the help of alot of videos on YouTube, I got it done. It is a life changer and if you are a busy mom who spends alot of time in their vehicle, you will thank me. I started with a clean vehicle back in the summer. I vacuumed and Armor Alled the interior first of all.  Then I found this nifty idea and had to give it a try. I made my own car fresher. I took a  clothes pen and hot glued a piece of felt to it (you can use other things as well, this is just what I had on hand at the time) and I spread drops of essential oil onto the felt and clipped it to my vent. This way, when the air or heat is on, it will blow throughout the truck. It smells amazing. You can use any scent you like. 

Next, our state has become hands free for cell phones. However, I have always has this phone mount way before they passed that law. I put my phone in it and I have my phone synced to Blue Tooth with my truck so I can talk hands free. It is also there for emergencies. In the next photo is inside my console lid. I wrote down emergency numbers and medical info on a piece of paper and put in a see through bag and velcroed it to the lid. This is for emergencies for someone to find and call realtives in the event of an accident. Some people have a screen lock on their phones and if you are in an accident, they may not be able to get into your phone to find emergency contacts. The third pic in this collage is what the inside of my console contains. I have a little trash can, some little cups for pens, pencils, sauces, batteries, etc., a notebook for writing notes, phone numbers, etc., napkins, aux cord, phone charging cord and adapter, extra glasses case, a few small micro fiber cloths for wiping the dash down and such, and my bottle of essential oil for my freshener.  The last pic in the collage is little bags inside my console to have items on hand. The floral bag contains things like, a container of pain relievers like Tylenol, Ibuprophen, Asprin, motion sickness pills. Anything someone might need for an ailment. Then I have a little chapstick, mini manicure set, breath mints, gum etc. The other bag holds things like tire pressure gage, Battery connector cleaner, a little metric gage, mini flashlight, etc.

In this collage is the front driver door pocket, passenger door pocket and glove compartment. My side (driver side) has umbrella, swiffer duster, ice scraper, hand sanitizer, and wet wipes. The passenger door has a little case that contains hand sanitizer, wet ones, a ziploc bag of extra napkins, and a few extra walmart sacks for big garbage. In the blue bag is my glove box. It contains my owners manual of my truck, insurance info, vehicle information. The back of my truck has a little compartment that I put trailer straps and this little broom and dust pan set. Over my head on my passenger side visor( missed getting a pic) is a dvd case for the kids dvds for them to watch.

In the back of my truck is a cloth cube that I keep an extra blanket or two for emergencies, a jug of water (this is for cleaning out traveling training toilet for toddlers not drinking), a first aid kit, set of jumping cables, and a feminine emergency kit for me in case Mother Nature makes a surprise visit and I am caught off guard or have an accident. The last two pics in the collage is a little tool kit. I have all kinds of things in there for truck maintenance or emergencies. Screw driver, wrench, bungee cords, metal clips, etc. Alot of these items I bought at Dollar Tree and saved so much money. I got my DIL on board and helped her fix up her truck too. I even picked up some of the exact same things for Dallas truck. Dear Hubby was not really on board because he says if he needs something he will just stop and buy it. Oh well. This is not near all I have in my truck. I have a whole lot of things in the back of my truck for the grandbabies. I will create a post just  for us Grandmas. It will be called Gmaw Hacks. Dear hubby says I need a diesel to haul all my stuff and people. Well, lets go looking at some. lol

I hope some of these ideas will help someone. I know it has me and I am a stickler for keeping my truck clean and organized.

Guys have gone hunting today and I’m just king of relaxing, well, being lazy is more like it today. It is a Saturday and Christmas break is over Monday so it will be back to the drawing board of an alarm. Yuck!

It's Been A Doozy

It has been a doozy of a remaining year. I left ya’ll hanging in October and I apologize. We celebrated Halloween, had a few wienie roasts and bonfires. We have been enjoying grandbabies and time with Dad being off for Winter.

These girls like to be doing everything I’m doing and I love it.

We have had some unusually warm weather this time of year. There are days we could literally let all the windows up and doors open. We are just now getting some cooler weather. However, we did have a storm that came through with severely high winds and it blew down powerlines and trees for miles. Our county was damaged for about two and a half weeks. Dakota was working 16-18 hrs a day with our local  electric company that he works for. Those guys were taking shifts and the community pitched in and helped feed them 24/7. Fast food places would send employees out with food and feed crews. In one area it blew down over 100 poles for miles. Homes went for weeks without power. Dakota would come in exhausted and cold or wet. The girls would already be in bed and he would get up about 4 to 5 hrs later and go back out again. It was finally over and they got some rest.

We had a sad event around the first part of November. Dear Hubby lost one of his brothers. He had been sick for years and just got tired of fighting it any more. He discussed things with his daughter which is a nurse and he said he just wanted all machines off. They called in all the family and we watched him take his last breath. He was finally at peace. David is doing good and the rest of the family is too. Nanny (my MIL) has a huge mass in her stomach and they ran a biopsy on it and it came back non cancerous. However, with her age and other medical issues they can not do surgery. It is something she is coping with. She has lost so much weight and it is constricting her eating because it is making her feel full all the time and she is only eating like a bird. We are all getting worried about her. David is one who has always taken care of his mom. He is worried but he hides it well.

I’ll get ya’ll caught up on everyone.

Dakota finally got his promotion at his job that he trained for. He is now an Apprentice Lineman for our local power company. He trained and went to climbing school back in Sept. (see last post). He loves it and says its so different. He likes the pay raise too. We are very proud of him.

Jossie (DIL) is doing great. She has another semester in the books. She passed with A’s and B’s. She did alot of studying and homework. It all paid off. Her next semester starts in a few weeks. Only two or three classes. Three days a week but her class is only an hr and a half long for each day. She is having some medical issues too and seeing some drs until they can find the problem. Hopefully they can find it soon.

I had a rough time until I finally decided to quit taking my blood thinner. I had enough of the side effects which come to find out was my problem all along. The minor chest pains have subsided, the shortness of breath has quieted some, the headaches are less and less, heart palpatations are not as bad, and the brain fog got better.  This is not mentioning what it does to a females menstral cycle. My decision was made when  I had my last cycle right before I stopped taking them. My cycle was atrocious for 28 days. I was getting weak and feeling awful. My dear hubby was getting very worried because I came to visit one weekend when he was out of town and I was getting weak. He did not want me to drive. I made it ok when it was time to go home. The day after I got home I quit taking them. The very next day, the bleeding stopped. I have not looked back since. Then, I went to my RA dr and we discussed going down in mg on my RA meds. There are alot of side effects to it too. Methotrexate is an anticancer drug. It is right up there with chemotherapy and we all know the side effects of that. I just had enough of not feeling good. I talked to him about starting Tumeric and he said it was fine with him. You can read all the benefits of Tumeric if you research it. It has also helped my leg feel better that has the blood clot. Tumeric is a natural blood thinner. My leg doesn’t hurt as bad. I do have to keep taking Iron supplements to keep my red blood cell count up. I have decided to start eating better. Cutting out alot of sugar, processed foods, incorporating more fruits, veggies, nuts and such. I spent all last year not feeling good and not getting to do alot of things I enjoy doing. So, we will see how this goes. 

Dear hubby is home for the winter, hopefully,  unless he gets a phone call out of the blue to go out again.  He has discovered that  he is in the prediabetic stage. I have been worried that this would come one day. You see, his dad was an incillin dependent diabetic. He also had heart issues and high blood pressure problems. He passed away in March. Last summer, Dear hubby started noticing he was not  himself. He had no energy and felt awful all the time. He was coughing it up to getting older I guess or hormones. He tried several things but not getting much better. What was suppose to be a fun eventful summer, came to sleeping alot and no motivation. Back in the fall he was working with this guy that noticed some symptoms. He was in the Prediabetic stage too and found help. He has been a coach to dear hubby and has helped him recognize alot of his symptoms and told him to try some things. Dear hubby did, and it has worked. His coach has been a God send. He has to stay away from sugar and he is watching his fats and carbs. It has made a difference. So…… we decided we can help each other. There are things I have to stay away from and he does too so we are changing some things. We are substituting sugars, we are substituting the flours we bake with. We are buying more fruit and veggies. He has been checking his sugar once a week and he is getting it under control. He has done more since he has been home and been more motivated not to mention he has lost some weight. So, maybe this will be good for us.

Dallas is doing good in  school. We had an issue with him back in early fall. We started noticing mood swings, crankiness, isolation,  weight loss, and doing things that he just knew better to do and was raised better. I was coughing it all up to hormones and peer pressure. Well, peer pressure does have alot to do with it. You see, parents, if you have teenage kids please, please pay attention to their behavior. After much fighting, crying and yelling, we finally had a break through. Dallas broke and finally admitted that he has been suffering with insomnia and anxiety for two years. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? How as a parent did I miss this. I felt so awful that I did not notice he was so helpless. I felt awful. I cried, I mean, ugly cried. I felt awful I was not there for him. Parents, again, please notice their behavior. Teenagers have so much these days to deal with that we did not in our generation or previous generation. Worse peer pressure, bad influences thanks to tv, internet, video games, social media, etc. Our teenagers are  pushed at such an early age to think about college and what they are going to do when they graduate. They start pushing this on them in elementary school. Trust me, I know. Its all about testing scores now. I wish we could just get back to teaching and letting them just learn and enjoy being teens. Ok, that is another soap box. Teens are dealing with alot more today than we ever did. Dallas has always been easily influenced and I have always tried to pray the Devil away but no matter how kids are raised, they still have decisions to make when mom and dad is not around. We can’t control everything in their life. I am a parent who wants to fix every ones problems. When they want let me, I stress, bad. We are on the mend, hopefully. We found a natural sleep aid and a natural mood enhancer for him. We do not want to go the chemical route and him get dependent on them. I have been making make ahead breakfasts for him to make sure he eats in the mornings. We keep fruit out at all time. We make sure we talk to him and ask him to come to us and open up more. He is doing alot better. He has a pretty good little girlfriend. We really do like her. Right now in this stage of his life, she is a God send. She gets Dallas. She can read his moods and knows what triggers him. She can change his mood in a heart beat. She keeps him on his toes and keeps him out of trouble. Well, minus a few mishaps. These kids are gonna give me gray hair. Teen capers you could call it.

You can see we have all had our share of battles in 2019, but thank the good Lord, we recognized them and with his help we are coping and fixing things. We will see what 2020 brings.

November rolled around and that starts my cooking and baking for the holidays. I start  preparing for meals two weeks before Thanksgiving. I have Nannys  to cook for, and church potluck, then the past two years we have hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house with my mom and dad. Then first thing after Thanksgiving, we break out the Christmas decorations and decorate. Then it is cooking and baking getting ready for meals for Christmas. I was literally in my kitchen for three weeks. I wanted my families Christmas meal to be special so I put my Kitchen Aid mixer to the test this year. I broke out the Pasta roller and Ravioli maker. I’ve got to play with the ravioli maker somemore and tweek some more. I made homemade Ravioli and Lasagna. I had 5 lasagnas and my big 10 qt pressure cooker full of ravioli. I was exhausted but it was memorable. The girls helped me make sugar cookie nativity scenes. We had so much fun.

Dallas had been cutting his wisdom teeth. All four at one time. I took him to the dentist and found out one was coming in wrong and had to be pulled. He was a trooper especially under loopy gas and numbing medicine. The dr asked him how he was doing and he said, “I’m walking on sunshine.” So the dr said he would just play that song for him. lol

Mistle Toe Ball came for Dallas at school. He looked so handsome.  Yes, he went with a swollen jaw from having his tooth pulled the day before.

We celebrated Dakotas 22nd bday. 

I was determined to do more this year at Christmas time because last year I was just having too many medical issues that kept me home alot. I got the decorations all up and decorated the house. Last year I did not put up my small christmas village because the girls were smaller and, well, you know. This year I said, what the heck. I only had to say no a few times and that was it. They loved it

Poppie even got them their own little tree to decorate themselves. 

We went to Christmas on  Main in a town close to us. We actually went two different nights because Dakota does not do crowds well,he gets impatient and the line to see Santa was so long. So, we saw what we could the first time and we just planned to go back another night and see the  rest and get there as soon as they opened all events and Santa was first on our list.  It worked.

We made sure we made it to our local parade too. The girls were actually in it.

Atleigh was on the float with mommy and Caroline was in the truck with Daddy.

Dear hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. We always love to ride and see christmas lights on our date.

We did christmas a little different this year. We had our christmas with Dakota, Jossie and the girls on christmas eve morning. That way no one was so rushed around Christmas morning. It worked out good for us and my momma and daddy came and we will probably do that from now on. We had a good breakfast with Grinch pancakes for the girls.

That night we had Christmas at Nannys (MIL) 

Christmas morning we had with Dallas at our house but  I didnt get any pics. The girls had a good Christmas at home with mommy and daddy.

That night we had with my family in MS

It was a good ending to a good year. Let's see what 2020 brings. 

Blessings to all