Feeling Better Every Day & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends.

How was your week? Ours was spent working at the farm every day and getting a ton of things accomplished (PJ) and staying home recovering while finally getting some housework done (me). Sounds like a win-win, right? Because PJ’s been at Holiday House nonstop every day, the thought of actually being able to stay in there this winter is becoming a real possibility. He has been getting back into the swing of (and enjoying) working there lately, getting inspired and letting his creativity shine. I love it. It’s going to be the cutest little cottage when it’s finished. And in regards to the pond saga, the photo above is a recent one I took the other day, though there’s been even more development since I took this!! You will have to see today’s newsletter to see what I’m talking about.

In other news, I feel better with each passing day, and every day seems to be my “best” one yet. Also, I’m happy to say that, as of today, it’s officially been 10 days since I felt my first symptom, which means I can be around humans again! Great way to start off the weekend isn’t it?

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Hope you have a good one, friends!! xo

The Two Most Frustrating Parts of the Last Week with COVID-19

Tomorrow will be a week since I tested positive, but 10 days since I started feeling symptoms of covid 19.

And you know what? I feel about 90% better! My only areas of improvement right now are I’m still pretty lethargic and get tired easily, and I still have no sense of smell or taste. Weirdly, that’s probably been the biggest annoyance of this whole thing. Once I got over the fever (that only lasted about three days) and the aches and chills, the lingering side effects of no taste or smell have been the most frustrating parts.

I told this to my sister who reminded me, ever so nicely, that people are dying every day from covid and that I have it easy, to which I replied, of course. Absolutely. Things have been horrifyingly life-changing for so many because of this virus and I would in no way ever play down that fact. I am speaking only on my personal experience with this virus, one that I chose to get vaccinated against months ago in order to protect myself and my family, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that we chose to get those two shots at the beginning of summer. I know I sound like a broken record, but I can’t imagine how much worse this whole ordeal would be if I wasn’t vaccinated.

So at the moment I am counting the days until I can smell and taste again and feeling grateful for how quickly I am recovering. It’s funny how quickly you miss things you take for granted every day. And of course we take smelling scents and tasting food for granted! They’re like blinking for most of us. But when they’re gone, they leave a big empty space where a sense of normal life used to be.

If you’re going through these same frustrating, annoying and peculiar symptoms too, let’s go through it together, shall we?

PS: how sweet is sis helping me bring in the chicken noodle soup my mom made for us last week?

Headquarters for the Next Week

Day two going on day 20.

That’s sort of how it feels right now. Being restricted to one room of your house while you talk to your family through the door is jarring…and weird. It’s necessary, of course, and essential in keeping my family safe. And I know I’m so much more fortunate than others who have had this virus, particularly those who didn’t get the vaccine, but still. In my personal situation, covid and quarantining are both things I am looking forward to being over.

Is it normal to experience FOMO with your own family? Then again, nothing about this situation is normal. I hear the kids laughing and playing and having fun outside the door and I think, I’m not a part of that. I usually am. We spend every day with them, so it’s always at least one of us.

But lately it hasn’t been me. And it’s not stemming from feelings of envy; I’m actually so happy PJ has taken some time off renovating Holiday House and the flip house and is relaxing with the kids, eating popcorn and watching movies, and being home. How did I get so lucky with him?

He’s been taking care of me and making sure I’m getting the medicine I need. How is it that I can remember to give our. middle kiddo his medicine two times a day and our dog her medicine two times a day, but I forget to take the ones I need? Nevertheless, he has made me some Theraflu tea, given me all the medicine I need in order to feel somewhat okay, and cooked up a delicious breakfast this morning. He also made my mom’s chicken noodle soup extra fancy by adding some sour cream and paprika. I still can’t taste (or smell) anything, but I could tell it was delicious just by the texture, if that makes sense.

At the end of the day, I feel happy and grateful knowing I am feeling okay today, and that my family is safe and healthy. I know it could always be worse than it is and right now my problems are minuscule compared to those of so many. So much to be grateful for tonight.

We’re still watching the 9/11 documentary and I’ve been sending emails in between editing videos and passing out.

What a day.

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Rest?

Well here we are. Day one out of 10 of quarantining since I tested positive yesterday for Covid-19. The above photo has been my primary view for the day. I didn’t sleep well last night, mostly because I just felt uncomfortable and kept waking up in a cold sweat.

I’m happy to say my fever is gone and has been for about two days, but I’m just so damn tired. It feels like I’m in a haze, like I constantly need to lie down. Still, I’m trying to get up and move around every now and then per PJ and my mother-in-law’s advice (they are the absolute best people to turn to when you’re sick, btw. They seem to know everything when it comes to taking care of someone!).

I’ve been keeping my distance from the kids, not letting them in our room and not getting close to them. I let their teachers know this morning they won’t be returning to school for 10 days, the recommended time that they stay out. Between them at home and me not really being able to help out around the house, I feel like this is going to be a very long 10 days.

PJ took the kids and the little dogs to the farm to get out of the house and get some fresh air. He’s sending me pictures of them roasting hot dogs and of our new project out there (can’t wait to share!!) and I find myself missing them, even after only a few hours. Before he left, he asked if I wanted to come and drive separately, but I didn’t have it in me. I run out of steam pretty fast right now. So I spent a few hours cleaning up around the house with my face mask on as I sprayed down surfaces.

Right now I’m in bed editing an upcoming YouTube video and watching the new 9/11 documentary on Netflix Turning Point:9/11 and the War on Terror. Have you seen it yet? It’s so good. My heart breaks every time I watch something about that day, but I also never want to forget it (how could I? How could any of us?). It’s wild that it’s been 20 years, isn’t it? At the same time, it feels like 100 years ago because it’s hard to remember how things were before 9/11/01.

Anyway, I’m getting back to work, but I wanted to thank everyone for the sweet well wishes on yesterday’s post. It means a lot.

Hope you’re staying well!

It Was Only a Matter of Time & Happy Friday

Happy Friday, friends.

How was your week? Ours was…interesting. So much progress was made at the farm this week, thanks in part to our friends Matt and Beau helping PJ install new windows at Holiday House, and the ceilings on half the house getting new drywall and paint! The pond is also coming along. It’s thisclose to being finished and it looks incredible. I was going to wait to post these pictures but I can’t. PJ sent me these earlier and I am in love with our future pond, if that’s even possible:

Meanwhile, I have been feeling awful the last few days, with a fever and chills and aches. I’ve lost the ability to smell or taste anything and have had the worst headache. I got tested yesterday and, two minutes ago, got the results in. It’s official: I have covid. Luckily, I am vaccinated and don’t think it will be as bad as if I weren’t, but still, this virus is no joke friends.

The weird thing is, I actually feel somewhat better today. I’m still very tired, lethargic and all around blah, but I have no fever (thankfully) and my aches and chills are gone. I’m hoping they don’t come back, though I know everything usually gets worse at night. The worst were the first few days, even up until last night. My fever got up to 101.8 at its highest, and all last night I was so cold. I couldn’t get warm, even in the extremely hot bath I took I was still shivering.

I think the hardest thing about this whole deal, or maybe the most annoying, is that I’ve lost the ability to smell and taste. Even when my nose isn’t stuffy, I can’t smell a thing. And in regards to tasting, it’s funny how quickly you start missing how good food is. The past two days I’ve been eating because I feel hungry, not because I enjoy the taste of food. I couldn’t taste my mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup she brought me this morning and I feel very sad about that. It’s always soooo good, but I’m afraid I won’t know if it needs more salt or if there’s too much thyme in it. Still, I was so grateful for that big pot of soup this morning. What would we do without our mothers?

So now the quarantining begins for all of us. The kids won’t be going back to school for a while, and I don’t think I will be spending much time around them (or PJ?) for the next week or so :(. My older sister, who has six kids, had covid a few weeks back and spent 10 days in her room, without her husband and without her kids, while she recovered. She is mostly better now, though she still gets tired and fatigued easily.

It was only a matter of time, I suppose. Even though I wear masks everywhere and social distance and I’m vaccinated, I still got it. I am extremely thankful I am vaccinated, because I know it could be so much worse than what it is right now. If you want more info about quarantining and isolation, here are the official rules, straight from the CDC.

I’m hoping for the best, and despite everything, I’m wishing you a happy weekend, friends.

xoxo

Update: thank you all so much for the well wishes!! Means a lot ❤️

The 2021 Peak Fall Foliage Map

Our favorite season is almost here!

Time to get excited friends, because the 2021 fall foliage map is out, meaning now we can track when the oranges and reds and yellows of autumn are at their peak (which is an extremely important thing to keep track of, obviously).

Every year, SmokyMountains.com releases an interactive map that allows you to see exactly when the colors will turn in the U.S. For example, around October 25 is when the colors will be the most vibrant in our area (another reason October is our favorite month ever). You can click here to see when it’s going to peak in your area.

The countdown has begun!!!

It Feels Like Fall This Morning & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends.

How was your week? Beau and Matt are still here and to be honest, I don’t know if we ever want them to leave! Tomorrow marks one week since they’ve been staying with us, and I was telling Beau last night while we were all watching TV that it’s starting to feel normal for them to be here. Like, if they were to leave tomorrow it would feel wrong and sad and I don’t think any of us would like it one bit. Who knows how long they’ll stay? All we know is we’re grateful they’re here and wouldn’t mind if they stayed even longer.

Also. Something happened this morning that hasn’t happened in months. I opened the doors to let the dogs outside and I was greeted with fresh, cool and crisp air across my face and I instantly felt refreshed. It was 63 degrees. You know that every year around this time I start itching for fall to hurry up and get here, and even though we’re still a few months away from crisper weather being the norm (and it will get up to 84 later on today), I am relishing in the fact that at least for the next couple of weeks, we will have cool air in the mornings.

We went out to the farm last night to check on the pond progress and I can’t believe how good it looks! It’s smaller than PJ envisioned though, so last night we talked it over and PJ decided he’s going to have the pond guy make it even bigger. He has a vision for the exact look and feel he wants for the farm, the pond, and what will eventually be our house (long term goal!!), so he makes each decision carefully and puts a lot of thought behind them. Though, to be honest, sometimes it feels like we both just make impulsive decisions without giving them much thought, but at the end of the day PJ is extremely cautious in what he decides.

Right now the plan for tonight is to go to the farm and have dinner and make s’mores. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect way to spend a Friday night? PJ and Matt are there currently working on the living room at Holiday House, the boys are at school, and I’m at home with sis and Beau while we all do our own work (for sis that’s virtual learning and for me and Beau it’s social media). It feels like a good way to start the weekend off right.

Hope you have a great weekend, and if you’re not signed up for our weekly newsletter yet, you can click here to subscribe! The next one goes out later on today :).

xoxo