Sandia Resort & Casino

30 Rainbow Road

Albuquerque, NM 87113

(505) 796-7500

5/2019

Got there really early due to avoiding weather, but they were able to accommodate us in around 1pm. Our reservation stated a smoking room and even though they were booked, they were able to get us a non smoking King room.

The view was spectacular…

We just hung out in the room and spread out and relaxed…this room was at least three times larger than Maggie, so we just enjoyed it!

We ordered in room service and had some tasty delights…

What a great hotel that we would highly recommend and the casino is large with all the latest slots that we only played a little since it was crowded and very smokey.

Sky City Casino RV Park

I-40 & Exit 102

Acoma Pueblo, NM 87034

505-552-6123

9/2008, 5/2019

We stopped years ago, but never reviewed it.

Sites are all pull through and long, but not too wide. We paid $22.47 with the senior discount for a water, electric and sewer on a fairly level site.

Due to wind, we checked in at 9am and they were extremely accommodating. When you check in they give you a key that opens the locks on the water and electric at the site, apparently they had issues. There is a drop box for the key when you leave.

Casino is fairly small and smokey, but they did offer a non smoking section that had good slots…we were happy and came out way ahead.

We got to the Huwak’a Buffet in between lunch and dinner and the food was dry and not much of it left, but we didn’t want to wait an hour for dinner. We paid $10 each so it wasn’t too bad for the price.

Our SASR Experience

We worked back in February for SASR (Set and Service Resources), but the jobs were either cancelled at the last minute or when we showed up there was not a lead, so we didn’t work. We wanted to give it a fair chance, so we chose to give it another try…

This was a total remodel of a Family Dollar in Gallup, New Mexico and was told that in all likelihood it would not be canceled.

It was not canceled but there was constant strife between our team lead and the lead from Family Dollar after the second day…they spent most of their time pointing fingers at each other or complaining about the other that in turn made it such a terrible environment. Our team lead was gone most of the time, so it was hard to get confirmation for the correct project.

Most of our time was spent redoing things that were not done right the first time due to the disorganization of the leads. Nothing worse than spending an entire day remodeling to the blueprint that was given to us with our high standards and then to come in the next day to hear that the wrong information was given to us…ugh!

Without the appropriate guidance, we were all barely holding on, but we did the best we could do, and at the end of the day we are proud of our efforts with all the work we did.

The pay was excellent, since not only was the hourly pay at a nice rate, but they also paid us for our travel and our camping.

Once we are done in November with PepWear and if we don’t get the other opportunity that is on the table, we might reconsider giving them one more chance, but if the disorganization is always there, then it’s not for us. It makes for a long, grueling day listening to all the strife and having to redo all the hard work that went into it.

For now, we are on travel vacation, heading to Cedar Hill to start our new adventure. We are traveling much lighter having sold most of the items we needed to sell and we can take a little bit of time getting there, no need for more than 200 mile driving days. Life is Grand!

Blake’s Lotaburger

Gallup, New Mexico

They have about 90 locations in New Mexico and a few more in Arizona and Texas only.

They are not a fast food place, they cook each meal upon request so even though they have a drive through they ask that you pull around back and wait. It took about 15 minutes to finally get our burgers but they were worth the wait.

We had Lota Burgers with Green Chilies and cheese that were juicy and flavorful…

Hot and fresh Seasoned Fries…

And, the best tasting Onion Rings…

We would highly recommend this burger joint if you ever come across them out west.

It’s Time To Get Real

Our lives have never been easy…we struggle financially almost daily which in turn makes other things in our life a big struggle. We live with the “if only” all the time…IF ONLY we had enough money, we could…but we don’t…then we find ourselves spiraling in our vortex of despair.

We persevere and find ways to make it through one day at a time…one moment at a time. We pray…we stay positive…we do everything we can to keep our heads up so we don’t stay stuck in that black hole of despair. There are times we just want to give it up and relinquish the fact that our life sucks, but then what?

What is giving up? What does it mean to be done?

If we give up or are just done with it all, then we might as well just be dead. Death will come soon enough for us since age is no longer on our side, so wanting it sooner is not how we choose to play this game called Life.

We now realize we have to live our truth…we may not like it…we may see it at times as a bad hand that we were dealt, but it’s our truth. The more we look and want what others have, the more we get sadder, angrier and more envious.

So far 2019 has been tough but we do have a silver lining...we just have to be patient and be able to get there mid June. We will be picking up our truck and trailer and going on the road doing Band Events throughout the United States. This will be in addition to what we do in September with a week off in between. So as of June through November, we will be gainfully employed and making some great money and loving what we do.

Then our plan will be to downsize, looking for a Class B with great gas mileage so we can continue with this work and others that will allow us to continue traveling and make good money doing what we love. This is what keeps us sane…knowing that at any moment our lives can take that turn and have things go the way we plan…that is what we hold onto…otherwise…well, we don’t want to even go there.

We know that the only way to get what we truly want, we have to let go of the things that are not working for us right now.

We have decided to completely give up on Lt Blender work now and all future work. We have worked the winter months for the past few years and they have gone in an entirely different direction then we had hoped. When we first started with them we negotiated a decent deal, but since changing of management, things have gone from just okay to extremely bad. So it’s time to let go and move forward onto bigger and better choices.

We are also selling items we no longer need, letting it go is the easy part, selling it and making any money seems to be the hard part. We are getting hits, but as we learned from our estate sale, nobody is willing to pay what it’s worth. The good news is we sold enough to give us a little cushion to get to our next location where we have a 10 day job waiting for us next week that pays extremely well.

We feel the shift in our lives...Life is grand once again...We can breathe and enjoy the ride.