January, Birthdays, Carter MTC, Texas, Covid and More, 2022

 January is not my favorite month!  Just putting it out there.  I usually get the January Blues pretty bad.  Last year I avoided it by taking Wellbutrin :) and also it was actually a really good month because Eric found a house and went under contract and we were busy with that all month.  It was fun and exciting to have him as my first client and we were able to go from contract to closing in about 3 weeks!  I'm happy to report that he loves his home and thinks it was a great decision to buy it!

There are a few things I like about January.  Snowy days, fires in the fireplace and hot chocolate mostly!  I like sunny winter days but cloudy gray days get old really fast!  My favorite things about January though aren't things, they are people!  My boys, Tyler and Ryan, and our sweet granddaughter, Violet, were all born in January as well as other friends and family.  They are treasures for sure and make January worth it!

Eric and I have tried to keep our Saturday tradition of getting together going but it has been pretty cold for taking walks and hikes.  One Saturday we did get together and we made Avocado Egg Rolls just like the ones you get at The Cheesecake Factory!  He bought some of their sauce from the restaurant so they were perfect!

 

Carter started his mission with home MTC starting around January 2, then he got to enter the actual MTC in Provo on January 12.  They stayed with us the night before and then we got to have his last official meal with him before he left for two years!  It's always a bittersweet thing to send a young man or woman off on a mission and it isn't without a few tears, but it is also such a special experience and I'm glad we got to be part of it.

Carter's first picture in the MTC!

We had a fun little party for Violet's 4th birthday.  It was small due to illness and other plans but it really was very sweet just having us and them.  Hannah had a lot of cute decorations and a darling cake/cupcakes!  Violet was very happy!

Violet took this one!

Fun and Happy Mermaid Party

Justin and Mega asked me to come to San Antonio to watch their girls while they went on a business trip to Cancun.  They had a wonderful time and so did the girls and I!

Monday, we went to the San Antonio Zoo!  It was a holiday (Martin Luther King Day) as well as a discount day for residents so there were about a million people there but it was still a lot of fun. Kira had to miss so she could go to gymnastics.  I was so grateful for all the friends who drove the girls to their activities and Mia to and from school.  It helped me out so much!

Mia taught me how to do diamond art.  It kept everyone busy and entertained.  Nora and I printed a lot of animal coloring pages and did a lot of coloring.  The weather was beautiful for the first three days and then there was a cold snap.  I enjoyed those warm 70's a lot!!

Diamond Art!

Nora was my little buddy!

I was a little nervous to take care of Coco, but turns out she's the easiest dog in the world!  Very sweet, quiet, and low maintenance!

I always get together with my friend, Kym Hall, who lives in Austin.  She always comes to San Antonio to see me when I'm in town.  This time, she and I met in a little town called Blanco about 30 minutes north of Justin's house.  It was about an hour for Kym.  We met and had breakfast, then explored the antique shops, had lunch later in the afternoon and had a blast just catching up with each other.  I am blessed to have such wonderful friends!

This isn't a good picture but it was right before we headed back and unfortunately, the only picture we took the whole day!  We had most of the day together since the girls were in school.  I got back just as they were getting home so the timing couldn't have been better!

The girls and I had to go to Playa Bowl! I had been craving one since the last time I was there and luckily it's Mia's favorite place to go so I didn't have to twist anyone's arm to go there!

Justin and Mega came home on Friday night.  Saturday, we got to watch Mia's color guard competition and that night Justin and Mega treated me to an amazing steak dinner at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort's restaurant called 18 Oaks.  It was like Ruth's Chris quality and close to it in price.  It was really a treat for me.  I had a delicious wedge salad, a perfectly cooked filet, and we shared sides of creamed corn and asparagus plus all the warm homemade rolls we could eat.  

I had a really wonderful week in Texas.  I was so happy that I was able to go and spend some time with those sweet girls.  They are growing up so fast!  Mia will be a senior next year.  She is a beautiful girl with so much talent. She plays violin in the orchestra and is on the color guard.  She works hard at everything she does.  She's fun to talk to and to be with.  I really enjoyed our time together.  I realized I didn't get any pictures of Kira.  She's a super busy girl with school and gymnastics!  All three girls are so kind, loving, appreciative and helpful!  Mia even made us dinner one night all on her own, Japanese Curry!  It was perfect!  Already missing being there!

I got back home on January 24th.  That week Mike and I went to the Provo City Center Temple to do sealings.  It is such a beautiful Temple and we loved being there.  We ate at Red Lobster afterwards with gift cards we had received for Christmas from Joel and Steven and their wives.  It was delicious!

I bought a new picture for our fireplace mantel.  I have always dreamed of living on a little farm and having a little white farmhouse with a white picket fence around it and a red barn.  I don't know if it's possible to have that dream fulfilled at this stage in our lives but I thought if I had this picture to look at and put it out there to the universe and God, then who knows what could happen!

I baked more Kamut bread and also some hamburger buns and sandwich rolls!  There were all super yummy and quite easy to make!  We had Eric and Ben over to eat burgers on the special Kamut buns and then we played Apples to Apples (Meg joined us from downstairs) and then Eric, Ben and I enjoyed a soak in the hot tub.  

So here we are at January 28th!  I made it through January and really only had one or two downish days!  I like to keep busy and structure my days so that I don't have too much time to sit and feel sad or blue.  I guess January doesn't have to be my worst month after all!

Hannah and Violet came over on Wednesday, the 26th.  Violet stayed and played with me while Hannah went to her classes.  We had a fun time playing with the animals and coloring and watching Encanto.  The next day Violet had a fever and was sick, Then Hannah got sick and tested positive for Covid.  Then on Saturday, the 29th I started getting sick and decided to take a home test and I tested positive!  Guess it was bound to catch me sooner or later!  It seriously was like having a cold.  I felt very blessed to not lose my sense of smell or taste and my symptoms were pretty much a runny, stuffy nose, a headache on and off, and an infrequent cough.  Not too bad!  I'm so grateful!  I'm writing this post on Day #6 for me!  I got up this morning and decided I was done with Covid!  I washed my sheets, and Mike and I cleaned the house!  I feel so much better and tomorrow, Day 7, I might even go out! :)

Two stripes means you are positive for Covid!

I took a lot of these!

Mike took such good care of me!  He fed me 3 meals a day on a tray on the couch in the family room which is where I have pretty much lived for the last week. He stayed in his wing of the house and I stayed in the family room and our bedroom/bathroom.  Luckily, he hasn't gotten it!  Hopefully he won't!!

Cindi texted to see how I was and if she could do anything.  I said no, but she read my mind and brought me our favorite Swig drink, Diet Coke (caffeine free for me) with fresh limes and grapefruit!  It made me so happy that she came out of her way to bring me that!  Love her forever!!

Good bye January!  See you next year!