Making the Most of My Time

A few posts ago, I showed ya'll the ponchos I was making for the granddaughters. Well, I have been putting my time to use and I got another set made. This is my set. I brought plenty of projects out here to do to keep me busy. I'm going to make some things and then I have some hemming and projects to do. I'll keep you updated and show you. This sure does help pass the time on rainy days, and I don't feel like going out any where. Also, it saves me money. Every time I go out to run errands, I wind up seeing things I want and then I buy them. I bought a little wrist wallet and a blouse the other day. This is not going to help our kitchen renovation budget that's for sure. So, it's better for me to just stay busy. 😂

I wanted to be up front and honest with the hotel manager and let her know I had an air fryer and  instant pot in the room. She doesn't have a problem with it. As long as I don't leave the room while they are on and running. I feel so much better knowing I have her permission. I made dear hubbys favorite. Sloppy Joe pies. I use Pillsbury Flaky Layer biscuits (again, his favorite). The instant pot is great for using like a frying pan on the saute' mode. Then I popped them into the air fryer. 

 

This morning I made a grilled cheese in the air fryer. 

Dallas, Company has a few Facebook group pages that we follow and they post pictures frequently. We have been able to spot him in a few pictures and I get so excited to see him. However, I can't post any on any social media or blog platform right now due to security reasons. Just know it makes this mommas heart glad. We have been sending him letters frequently. I know he is so busy and so tired sometimes, so I'm not worried or upset if it takes him a while to write back. 

I put up two new videos on my YouTube channel. One is making my homemade cinnamon rolls:How I Make My Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

and Planning Your Garden

Well, it is another rainy day here, and we have been getting tons of rain back home. It has rained for 4 days on and off with a few thunderstorms on and off. I guess God is getting the ground ready for people to start putting in those gardens. I cannot wait until March 13th when the time changes. 

Looks like it's a messy bun, comfy pant wearing kind of day. 

Recovering and Hotel Living

 Boy, I am slowly recovering from Covid. I can have good days and bad days. It's the recovering that takes the longest I think. I am so thankful that some people can have it and have light symptoms and can recover quickly. As soon as I got the all clear from the dr that I was not contagious anymore, I got to see my little buddies. I went down to Dakotas house and he cooked for me and Brylee and I got to read some bedtime stories, pray with my little buddies and tuck them into bed. It was a good night. 

With Dallas gone to Basic Training, Brylee came to help me clean Dallas room and help pack up some things he wanted packed up. Well, really, I paid her. I knew she was missing him already and needed to get her mind off things but at the same time be close to him. This was the perfect solution. I was in her shoes at one time when Dear hubby went off to USMC Boot Camp. There was no way I was going to let her do this for free.  His room was a mess. This gave me some time to spend with her too. I took her out to eat one night and I had a chance to give her some advice from one military girlfriend (then) to another. She stayed with me for a few days. It was really nice to hear her talk of their plans. Reminded me of me and dear hubby when we were this exact same age with our whole lives ahead of us. It was refreshing.

Dear hubby had to already leave to the next job. So, as Dallas was not at home, and I'm still recovering, hubby is getting worried about me. Also, we are suppose to be having kitchen renovation done. So, now is the perfect time. So, as I am trying to recover, I slowly started packing up our kitchen. Brylee also helped me with this. Some days were better than others. Some days I had energy, but used it so quick and got alot done, then some days minimal energy and got bare minimum done.  I am not a procrastinator. If I know I've got something to do, I put my nose to the grindstone and get it done. I guess, just because I still felt so fatigued some day, I just dreaded it and became a procrastinator. Finally, the day came that I got it all done. Then the next day, I started packing all my things. The next day, I was time for me to leave. I fought fatigue the whole way there. Dear hubby was so worried about me the whole time. I finally made it to where he was. 

These pics show the set up in our room. Why, yes that is a sewing nook. Since we are going to be here for a while, I have got to have something to do. My serger and sewing machine have their own carrying cases and they travel nicely. The clear tub consists of book and my Bible to read. The black tub underneath the table is my project box. It is sewing projects I am going to get completed and some patterns I am going to retrace adnd make some projects. 

Dear hubby always takes his own linens everywhere. No need to explain why there. We even bring our own mattress topper just like the one we have at home because it is  pain t sleep on different mattresses all the time. No pun intended. It will mess your back up in a heartbeat. Our own pillows too. 

This little sink comes in handy when I need to wash some small dishes and the tub will wash all our bigger stuff like our instant pot liner. I even bought some cleaner and a spray bottle too. I don't like them cleaning when I am in the room. I like cleaning our own room like I clean my house  so  I know its clean. That' just me. 

This is our coffee station, dining area, and computer area. 

I put up another table to extend our kitchen area. I brought an instant pot and an air fryer. We have a refrigerator and a microwave. Under the table is a tub with all our essentials. Next week, I will start meal planning and cooking our suppers. This week , dear hubby just wanted me to recooperate and he picks us up whatever we want to eat when he gets off work. 

This is our new farm caps that Brylees mom made for us. Next is some shirts. 

I have joined a few Facebook groups of Dallas company in hopes of catching a few glimpses of him in pics or gathering info. We have sent a few letters already but he is so busy that he hasn't had a chance to write us. It's ok with me because he has waited for this all his life. On an app we have to use for mailing, they have weekly updates.  This week has been Army History, Code Of Conduct,  Rules and Regulations. Then they moved on to Basic Medic Skills and Basic Combat Training. This is right up his alley because all his martial arts training will come back to him and this will be his favorite part. lol 

All this mom can do is pray every day. 

Dear hubby is fixing to get off work and bring our dinner. So it is my time to give him all my attention. lol.

What A Roller Coaster

 Boy, it has been a roller coaster ride the past few weeks and honestly, at one time I wanted off, even if it meant jumping. More on that in a bit. Let's get caught up. I started working on a project for the girls that I meant to do last year and never got around to it. I started making their carseat ponchos. These things are so easy for buckling them up and them staying warm all while no danger of being strapped in over the poncho. The new law now for carsear safety is do not buckle them in with their coats on. So this remedies that. The back of the poncho goes lifted over the back of the car seat, while you reach underneath the front and buckle them in and close the front back up. Viola! They stay warm. If they should get too warm, they can easily slip it off their heads and lay in the seat beside them. I've got one made now 5 more to go. I'm making Daddy, Mommy and me a set each. 

I found several videos on YouTube and pieced areas of each video I liked together and got started. 

The girls other grandmother has stepped up to the plate and is now watching the girls for Dakota when it is his week. I am beyond thankful and happy and relieved about this. They are having so much fun. And yes, that is their little Uncle Finn in the pic with them. 

We have had this project going on for some time now. I will go ahead and tell you because it is still going to take a while to get it finished. Dakota has been wanting a cattle farm since he was a little boy. Well, so has dad. So, they went in together and started our 4D Farm Cattle Co. Inc.  We have bought our first few calves but they are being homed at a friends pasture until we can get this pasture all fenced in and ready. Dear Hubbys momma told him a long time ago he could use that pasture for anything he wanted. Dakota is doing alot of the work, simply because he is just enjoying it. I can't wait to  see our little calves running around over there. 

This is one of Dallas' high school friends that he graduated with and joined the USMC. They were suppose to have gone at the same time, but thats ok. He came to see us after his 10 day leave after graduation from boot camp. We are so proud of him.

We had a little family night with Dallas for his bday. 

Dear hubby informed me before he had to leave out again that we were going to be doing a kitchen renovation going as soon as I got the kitchen all packed up. So I started working on that too along with my packing to leave too. 

A few days after that I started coming down with something and was not feeling really well. Then all the sudden something hit me and hit me hard. I got bed ridden for a couple days until I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to force myself to go to an emergency walk in after hr clinic. Low and behold I tested positive for Covid.  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME. I had dodged it for so long. Oh well, it finally caught me and let me tell you I would not wish this stuff on any body. I was so sick dear hubby or Dallas was going to get it. I literally was bed ridden for a week and a half. The body aches was atrocious, the fever and chills never ending, nausea unbearable, my skin literally hurt to touch it, and the worse part, the cough. I have literally coughed so much that my chest and ribs actually are sore. Dallas took care of me all this time, because dad already had to leave me behind and go to work. I lost my taste and smell too. 

The time came for me to have to get Dallas to the recruiting office for his ship out date. I had to force myself to do that too and fight fatigue while doing it. I could not let Dallas know it was a bad as it was because I did not want him going off worried about me. He needed to focus on himself because now its all about him and his new adventure in life. I put my big girl panties on, although I wanted to jerk them suckers clean off. This is the part of the roller coaster I wanted to jump off on. I got him to the office and we said our goodbyes and surprisingly I did not cry. I think its because I'm just so happy for him finally being able to live his dream. 

But this is what my Momma eyes and heart saw:

After having to wait at the airport for 3 and a half hours his plane finally left and he had a change over in GA. He grabbed a little bite to eat because he said he was starving. He text me this from the plane:

After a 6 hr long flight he finally landed in MO and an officer met him there and picked him up to which they still had a 3 hr drive to the base. They made it there in the wee hrs of the morning. He sent me this: 

He's got alot to learn but I have no doubt he will be great. They will be quarantined for 5 days and then start processing in. He will send us a letter with his address so we can start writing him. 

As soon as I dropped him off on that morning, I got my tooshie right to my dr this time. I wasn't playing around with this stuff anymore. They gave me some steroids to help get me mobile and clear up some of this inflammation in my chest, and they did chest xrays to make sure I wasn't setting up pneumonia. They gave me an antibiotic to fight off any infection I might be having or getting from this cough or sinus'. A strong cough syrup and an inhaler to help open up my passage ways for the shortness of breath. This morning I am happy to report that 3 times in the night I woke up drenched in sweat and had to change clothes and put towels on the bed to lie on until I could strip the sheets and wash them. I hope and pray I sweated that demon out. I woke up and was actually looking forward to getting out of bed and was finally able too. My appetite and smell has come back and I am able to eat solid food. I have been living off broth and jello. It was all I could hold down. I managed to get showered and start doing a few little things. Now as time and energy will allow I'm going to finish getting the kitchen packed up and my packing done so as soon as I walk out this door, our construction guy can come and do his thing and start gutting out our kitchen. We are so excited. We have waited on this for so long. 

Well, its time for me to end this post. I am so thankful to be up and about today. And as far as asking me have I been vaccinated or am I going to be vaccinated, the answer is still no. I will not debate it either because this is my choice. I will say this, I am not against vaccines or immunizations. They have all helped save lives from serious illnesses. I get the flu shot every year. My thing with the vaccine is this. It has not been tested long enough and I am not happy with the fact that some people have died after getting it, or still wound up in the hospital with this dreaded thing even after being vaccinated. When more research is done and the success rate is much higher, I might consider it in the future. So that is my conviction at this moment. 

I hope everyone has a lovely day.