Tired of being tired?

Five Simple Things (April 26)

 Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These "greens."

Always love getting my Your Super shipment for the two weeks ahead. I've gotten into a solid routine with these and I feel like they set the weeks ahead up for success.

2. This box.

I always look forward to receiving my Kiwi Eco Box each month. There is never anything in this box I am not thrilled to start using, and this month was no different. The cloth pad was my favorite item this month.

3. These souvenirs.

So many great things from our Eclipse road trip earlier this month. I am excited to go through all of them. We bought several things, but also my mom and sister gave us some gifts, as well. I can't wait to sort through it all and relive the wonderful moments from our trip.

4. This doggy.

  
Hardy has been sleeping a lot since we got back. He had such a great time exploring new areas and all the new smells. He loved every minute of it and right now we are letting him relax since we returned and he has been taking advantage of it 100%. He is such a good doggy, he deserves it.

5. This selfcare.

I found these Hello Kitty eye masks on our trip and I couldn't wait to use them once we returned. When I was a kid I loved Hello Kitty, but that was before it went mainstream and got popular. I like to think I was one of the first OG users of Hello Kitty, even at the tender age of eight.

One last thing:

 
While we were in Arkansas, I was blown away by all of the state sales taxes. After living in Oregon for almost 20 years I've gotten used to no sales tax. The amount of tax that Arkansas has people pay is mind blowing. On a $27.42 purchase, there were a 6.5% state tax, 1.5% county tax, and 1.5% city tax. I get that this tax is how the states make money on tourism dollars, but that's a lot of tax on a small purchase. Not only that, if these states are charging that much per transaction, why are these states still so poor? It's a mystery to me.

Positive affirmations this week:
One thing I have tried to focus on more is the good in every situation. Even in stressful or hurtful situations, or even situations of loss, focusing on the good is a way to train the brain to not sink into a dark place for too long. Sadness and anger are valid emotions and there is nothing wrong with feeling those feelings. Be it for a day, a week, or even a year. But, feel those feelings and let them go. Grief has no time limit, but the longer we stay in a grief moment, the longer it because part of us. Time does help to allow us to accept it, but when that first light of hope comes in, allow it in. 
You can do this!🌈

Have a nice weekend.

Day Twenty-Two and Twenty Three (Eclipse Road Trip)

    Ludlow, California 🠊 Williams, California

We woke up the following morning and got on the road towards Williams, California. Again, it was a beautiful day and we were able to see areas we saw when we moved from Arkansas to Oregon back in 2004. It was nice to see a lot of the area again, and see things that most people take for granted, like California poppies growing along the median.




We didn't stop anywhere and tried to make good time getting to Williams, and the moon was full and glowing the whole way once the sun went down.

We made it to Williams around 9:00 p.m. Jeff said he was going to go ahead of call it a night from driving. This area of California is pretty bare with sights, but the sunsets were amazing! I have always said that nothing beats a west coast sunset.

    Williams, California 🠊 Homebase

We woke up in Williams around 8:00 a.m. We ate breakfast and cleaned up the bus. We also got all the animals situated for the ride home. We planned on driving straight through from Williams, California, to Oregon without stopping.

As we crested the hill near Mount Shasta we got a great view of the snow-covered mountain. It was such a beautiful day that we saw the shadows in the snow along the mountain's sides.

We also got a great view of Black Butte along the highway towards the base of Mount Shasta.


We reached the summit of the Siskiyou mountain range and as we crested the top there it was; "Welcome to Oregon" sign greeted us. We were glad to be back in Oregon after such a long trip, but we were sad to end our time on the bus already. We all decided that living on the bus for long periods of time is definitely doable.



And before we knew it, we were getting off of Interstate 5 headed towards home base. It was a great trip and one we will be taking again soon. We can say now that we saw the solar eclipse twice. Once in Oregon in 2017 and then again in Arkansas in 2024. AND, we traveled to see the 2024 eclipse in a converted school bus. What a wonderful chapter to add to our book of life!