Five Simple Things (January 14)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These Cardinals.

I've had these paper Cardinals for some time and came across them cleaning out homeschool papers. I think they fit just fine in the Cat Palm tree leaves, for now. The Cat Palm tree is looking forward to being able to go outside for the season, and we are looking forward to sunny days, too. 

2. This Kid.

This kid had his first job interview this week. He put out several resumes and applications and was losing a bit of his spirit from no one calling him back. Not sure why businesses post "help wanted," or "desperately seeking help," yet none of those businesses call back. The good thing is, this first job interview went well. He landed the job after five minutes into the interview, which I had zero doubt once a company interviewed Skylar they would hire him immediately. He starts on Monday and while those other companies "desperately seeking help" never called him back, they missed out on a great employee. As I told Skylar, "Not everyone gets the privilege to meet you. Those that do, don't regret it." 

3. This Camera.

After my car wreck this past June I have been still struggling with PTSD from the entire incident. I speak a bit about it here. Jeff and Skylar went in together and got me a dash camera for the front of my car and the back of my car to help me ease back into driving without getting overwhelmed with anxiety. They took the time this week to install it and we went for a drive to see how well it covered the surroundings outside the car. I like the fact that there is a second set of "eyes" on the road, but it will still take some time still to feel 100% comfortable behind the wheel again. Not sure the feeling will every go away given how most people drive, but we're looking for progress, not perfection, and I'm okay with that. One thing is for sure, these camera do help me feel like someone is always watching around me. Here are the models I have: Front and Back.

4. These Boxes.

I received a sample of Splenda and Splenda with stevia leave extract this week to try out. I enjoy the fact that the stevia leave extract sample was GMO-free, but the other isn't at all what my normal diet consists of. It's a great product if you're trying to cut back on your sugar-intake, but going with an organic, or even real sugar (in moderation) is a better option for overall health. I appreciate the opportunity to test these products and all views are mine when it comes to sharing my opinion. If you want to give these varieties a try, you can purchase the regular Splenda Zero Calorie Sweetener here and the Splenda Naturals with Stevia here.

And, this month's Mighty Fix was donut bag clips. I was a bit skeptical of these before receiving them, but they are amazing! I love the fact that they are solid wood and work for a variety of bags. I even used one on top of Eleven's cat treat bag. If you would like to sign up for this monthly subscription, you can sign up here.

5. This Moth.

This week Skylar's moth, Bear, emerged from her cocoon into a beautiful Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia Isabella). She went from a Wooly Bear Caterpillar to beautiful species. We watched her from the time of her cocoon starting to her emerging. Unfortunately, she won't live long inside or outside. Her emerging too soon means it's still way too cold to put her back outside. We rescued her from the highway and kept her secure and safe inside of Skylar's snail habitat. She apparently was safe and comfortable and went into transformation. After reading more about Wooly Bear Caterpillars, sadly they only live one to two weeks, three if they are lucky. We hope Bear is with us for a long time. We love how she trusted us enough to transform, but we are disheartened that it was too early for the season and she has to stay inside. It's unfortunate because she won't be able to breed and carry on her own unique traits. We hope she enjoys her stay with us, though. We plan on treating Bear like the moth queen that she is.

Positive affirmations this week:

Set your intentions each week/day. You can either do this the night before and have your intentions for the following day be lined out, or set your entire month's intentions at the beginning of the month. A few ideas of intentions to set could include: 

1. Hours of Sleep >8
2. Morning Habit>Gratitude practice, journaling, stretch, or write your to-do list
3. Hours of Working>********
4. Exercise, or Movement>Stretch, walk, HIIT, gym, yoga
5. Evening Habit>New hobby, read a book, call a loved one, have a bath/shower
6. Winddown at Night>1 Hour, 2 Hours, 3 Hours
7. Deep Work>1 Hour, 2 Hours
8. Selfcare Days>Mon, Tues, [Wed], Thurs, Fri, Sat, [Sun]
9. Electronics-free Day>Sat, Sun
10. Me Things>New shoes, chocolate, fresh flowers, pedicure, alone time, etc.

Have a nice weekend.