Life at a "Swell's" pace: June 2022

Five Simple Things (June 24)

Hello. Happy Summer Solstice.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Guy.

We celebrate this guy every day, but make it special each Father's Day just because. He is a solid in both Skylar, and my life. Our little "family" is just the best! Happy Father's Day, Jeff. We love you!

2. These Boxes.

Kinder Beauty Box and Kiwi Eco Box.

3. These Accessories.

Jeff enjoys bodyboarding when we hit the waves and this week his flippers and fin socks came in. He was more than excited to try them out ASAP.

4. This Breakfast.

Haven't been feeling 100% lately and have been hanging in, or around my bedroom a lot. My bed is sort of like my go-to place when my mental health issues hit, or not having the best day. Jeff and Skylar always make sure I'm taken care of when those moments hit and without them, I just don't know. I don't like to think about that part, but I do like to think about the positives and how great they tend to me when my worst days are happening. These two plates of breakfast are proof that I am, indeed, taken good care of when I need it the most.

5. This Oops.

I pressed five gallon instead of three-gallon water when filling this container. Watching all this water go away really bothered me this week. I thought about it a lot, but on a positive note, made a mental note to never hit the wrong button again. Hopefully, this moment won't repeat itself.

Positive affirmations this week:

Reducing your sugar intake does a lot more than just a way to watch your calories. I've notice that since cutting back on sugar that my anxiety and panic issues are a bit less. It's not a cure-all for anxiety, depression, or panic attacks, but it does help in keeping them from being triggered from food intake. Eating a whole grain, healthy diet also helps a great deal with your mental health. My skin also clears up, I feel better about myself, and I get better sleep. These are the things that I noticed right away when cutting out excessive sugar intake. The infographic below is a good way to remind yourself that not all sugars you consume benefit you. But, don't forget to reward yourself on self-care days, or just because when you feel yourself not feeling rewarded. As long as you keep it in moderation, it actually because a reward and your mind will thank you for that.

Have a nice weekend.

Sometimes Wants (Summer '22)

These are the summer time "Sometimes Wants" that have caught my eye lately.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

I've been looking at more vintage jewelry lately and most of the best pieces are sold on Etsy. I've taken a liking to the unusual pieces and this brass nautical calendar replica caught my eye. It's an amazing piece and even though it's a replica, it's still a conversation piece that's functional and unique. I'm also loving this Victorian nail file.
It seems with every change in season there's always a reason to moisturize and summer is no different. I've tried to find a good substitute for Burt's Bees, because once they sold to Clorox, I haven't felt the same about them and not only that, but the fact that "Burt" that was behind Burt's Bees passed away, it just hasn't been the same for me. I raised Skylar on Burt's Bees, so making that cut with them was hard, but I've found a great alternative that I feel comfortable about. Badger is a great company that offers pretty much anything you need to keep your family healthy. And, I highly recommend this lip butter trio. There's sweet orange, cool mint, and unscented and they all are great and keep your lips moisturized. I use them mostly at night and wake up with soft lips and no dryness.
Was on a hunt recently for a good, solid cutting board that would hold up under us cooking more at home and came across this bamboo one by Bambusi. I have a smaller bamboo cutting board, but the size and weight of this one was perfect for us.
As far as looking for better lunch options over single-use plastic containers, or even plastic lunch bags, we've found these. Of course, we've been using steel containers for a few years now, finding the smaller sizes is always a nice addition to our collection. These nesting trio containers with their LDPE #4 plastic lids are perfect for summer picnics, camping, or the impromptu road trip. They come in 16 oz. 9 oz. and 5 oz. sizes.
Always on the hunt for lightweight summer shirts and United By Blue had just what I was looking for. This organic cotton gauze shirt is light, airy, and almost feels like it isn't there. I love the way it feels and I especially love that it's made responsibly. It comes in the foxglove color pictured here and also in white and cypress, and the sizing is XS-XL. I am in a medium, and it fits true to size. Other items I am enjoying from United By Blue are these organic wide leg jeans in indigo and in white, organic workwear coverall in midnight and in cream gold, and the linen tie jumpsuit in black.
We've been seeking a filtration system for our bus setup and we are looking towards this under the sink system. Some of the best water you drink should be filtered through reverse osmosis. We fill up our water containers through a filtration system that is hit with UV light and put through reverse osmosis and have not been disappointed. We are hoping to have this setup in our bus by the end of summer. If you're looking for something for your home, office, or by chance a bus conversion, we recommend this setup from APEC Water Systems.
In our efforts to reduce waste we've switched to pour-over coffee makers instead of drip, or single-use coffee makers. We've had the same mesh coffee filter for about six years now, and the mesh lining is starting to tear. I recently found this gold titanium-coated filter sleeve and it works like a charm. It saves on paper waste and a quick dump of grounds in the compost and a simple rinse under hot water means it's good-to-go for the following day.
We've been saving as much of our scrap veggies to make our own vegetable stock and it's a hassle trying to hold open the bag with one hand and stuff vegetable trimmings in with the other, but I found these bag stands. Seems like such a simple contraption that does a lot and they come in a set of two in black and white. When we aren't using it for an extra set of hangs to hold open the bags we use it to help dry our jars out before refilling them with something new. They are the tiny, useful item you didn't know you needed.
Looking for more eco-friendly office and school products I came across these ball point pens made from recycled plastic. With two people in our household in college now, we feel like the little impacts of even pens is a big deal. These pens from Pilot are part of their bottle to pen line and refillable and come in a variety of colors.
In a quest to have one binder for all things we plan, projects we're in the middle of, and everyday routines and schedules I recently came across the company Cloth and Paper. Their spiral-bound planner is the stuff of dreams and it helps keep everything in one place instead of several different binders. I love Cloth and Paper's planner accessories, too. Definitely looking forward to the 2023 planners coming out soon. If you sign up for their emails you can get 15% off your first order. I'm still a die-hard Orange Circle Studio lover, but I will be adding the two together in the coming years.

Happy Summer Solstice!

An Evening of Cornhole

We spent Father's Day weekend playing cornhole, playing in the backyard, BBQing, and enjoying the day with Jeff. We even followed the official cornhole rules of play. It was almost a perfect day and with the sun being out and it not too hot, it was a weekend of love and fun.

Our garden and plants this year are giving me all the feels.

It was a good day.

Five Simple Things (June 17)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These Recipes.

Since working with a dietitian I've been trying out some old recipes I've known and some new ones that I've never tried before. First picture is egg drop soup. This soup is one of my favorites when going to a Chinese restaurant, but I've never made it and it's surprisingly easy. Second picture is PAP. PAP is something that a lot of people aren't familiar with, but it's literally just another form of cream of wheat. It's flour, sugar, and milk-thickened and poured onto a flat plate and sprinkled with cinnamon.

2. This Test.

Received this test kit from Yogi Surprise before they discontinued their monthly boxes. We decided to utilize them this week and see what's off with our health. These test strips are held in your urine stream and after processing tells you minor health concerns, or what's off with your vitamins, minerals, or water intake. It's a great test to bring to your next checkup to discuss with your doctor. All three of us fell inside the healthy boundaries, but it was nice to see where areas need improvement, such as water intake, low minerals, or vitamins. It gave us a good look at what to improve on and increase doing, or decrease doing. These test strips are from Vivoo and you can pick up them up here. They work with a smart phone app to help you figure out minor concerns within your own body. The app can be downloaded here and along with your test strips gives you a leg up on what's going on.

3. This Stove.

We have been looking for a camp stove for awhile now, but didn't want to spend a whole lot. We got lucky and found this one from Ozark Trail for $17! Not sure why it was marked down so low, but we were pleased. We've used it once here at home, but are definitely looking forward to taking it on the school bus, or even on a camping trip/day trip to see how well it holds up. So far, we are happy with it. Here are similar camp stoves as the one above, but the exact one we have is no available for the price we paid. Our next option will probably be a Coleman.

4. These Groceries.

Always a great haul with Misfits Market. This was our grocery box this month and it didn't disappoint. Waterloo grape-flavored, peaches, salad, English muffins, strawberries, potato chips, spinach, watermelon, avocado, and so much more. We are never upset with our items and if anything is ever missing, broken, ruined in shipping, or not 100% satisfying they replace your purchase without hassle. You can sign up for this monthly shipment, or weekly shipment, depending on your needs, here. Minimum order amount is $30 and with that link you get an additional $10 off. Their selection of organic is some of the best I've seen with an online grocery service!

5. These Ashes.

We got back the ashes of Happy Duck, Rosie, and little Ro-Ro this week. It's sad to see all of our passed little duckies in this way, but we are slowly coming to terms with not seeing Happy Duck running around the yard with the other two ducks. Rosie was her sister duck that had uterine prolapse that ended up being too much for her to handle. And, little Ro-Ro we got after Rosie passed away to help keep Happy Duck company. Ro-Ro had something wrong with her from the start. A lot of times, ducks that come from a large breeder have issues from time to time. Ro-Ro came from the local farm supply store here and was sick from the time we brought her home. I stayed up with her the night that she passed away and I was able to talk to her and be with her when she took her final breath. I feel like that's my job-help animals and humans be able to take hard times a little easier. Death is something I will never be able to accept with any animal or any person. I have a really hard time understanding death, especially death of animals or people that didn't deserve to die the way they do. But, with having all of their ashes back to us we can add them to the pet box with Baz, Meia, and Milo that we can take with us. We have plans for them in the future, but for right now we are happy to have them back and together with the other pets.

Positive affirmations this week:

Have a nice weekend.

Don't forget that June 21, 2022 is International Day of Yoga. You can learn so much about your body through practicing yoga daily. For more information on how to get started check out International Day Of Yoga: Theme, Yoga for humanity.

Five Simple Things (June 10)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These Cupcakes.

Because sometimes, it's just that kind of week.

2. This Parade.

This week was the setup to the Strawberry Festival held here every year in honor of strawberries. Although it was a bit rainy, we sat and watched the parade for a bit. With Skylar working across from where we were sitting, he was able to walk across the street and hang out with us for a bit on his break.

And, with everything being centered around strawberries, we can't help but go all in by finding anything and everything strawberry.

3. This Alert.

A bit alarming, but thankfully nothing came from it. With all of the alerts for earthquakes near/close/distant from us, it's a bit unnerving. We always take note of any alert that is close to us, or even out in the Pacific Ocean.

4. This Grilling.

Taking full advantage of the warmer weather here lately. It's been nice to be cook outside again without worrying about fires, or intense smoke. Hopefully, we can get by with another summer of no threats again. 2020 is not year we think of fondly, but we are grateful that we are all safe and that we learned a lot that year on what's important and what's not.

5. These Caramels.

Finally tried making homemade caramels. Not really my thing and they didn't come out quite as planned, but it was definitely an interesting task. I might try it again, but I'm not sure right now. For now, we are going to enjoy these, because it did take all of us to make these tasty.

Positive affirmations this week:

There's lots of resources, apps, and journals out there that can help keep you on a path for routine each day. Mostly all you need is a piece of paper and a plan for the following day, or even for the week. I like to set myself up for small tasks for each day, but also include larger tasks to complete for the week and even the month. It helps a great deal with keeping me on track, so that when (not if, but when) bad mental health days hit, I don't add to my feelings with thinking I'm not getting anything done. On my tasks each day, week, and month, I make absolutely sure that have plenty of days for self-care and down time. If I deprive myself of those days and times, it will definitely show up later that I neglected that important part that I need to be successful in my life. Below are some examples that I have used as templates before. They are great tools from Habio, Elevate, and Fabulous.