The above pictures all happened on March 8. We got a large amount of sleet early in the morning and it sleeted off and on until around noon, to which a rainbow appeared shortly after and the sun stayed out for another few hours. It was unusual, but it seems to be the norm in this area now. After the March 8 weather, on March 10, which is below, we had a little bit of snow in the morning and then the rest of the day we got a large amount of snow that fell in a short bursts throughout the day.
Skylar and I love to always see the snow coming down. We are like the delightful little kids running out to play without a care in the world when the snow starts to fall. It was not only a beautiful sight, it was also neat to see it falling at random times throughout the night.
2. This Moment.
My humidifier created some ambiance against my vintage lamp one night this week and I just loved how it looked. I love old history, and this moment sort of made me feel like I had gone back in time for a brief moment.
3. This Kitty.
She's always up to something that makes us laugh. If it's not her laying on the television area, to sleeping, to exploring her grass/water station, she's always doing something to make us smile. We just love her so much. With having Meia gone, we are glad to have another great cat helping fill that void from time to time. Meia's absence, as well as Milo's, is always felt, but Eleven makes that hole just a bit less painful with her personality.
4. This Box.
Another great hit from Kiwi Eco Box this month. Love these colored pencils, candle, and Eco Hero Handbook. Looking forward to utilizing everything in this month's box! You can sign up for the April box here and get $5 off.
5. These Washes.
Loving these Necessaire body washes. Skylar and I absolutely love the eucalyptus scent, and the bergamot is a close second, for sure. Definitely recommend these products. Necessaire also sells body lotions with the same scents, and unscented, and they are top notch! You can try the Eucalyptus here and the Bergamot here. You'll love them!
One last thing:
Lately we have not been feeling 100%, so this week a made a homemade immunity shot and we drank one ounce of it a day all this week and we are feeling a lot better. This is something I am going to start making each Sunday, so we have a shot every day for a week, especially when the weather turns colder and more people seem to be getting sick. This season, knock on wood, we haven't had any sickness pass through us, but it's always better to be prepared. Here's how it's made.
Turmeric Immunity Shot:
1 cup water
2 tablespoons ginger (chopped)
1 orange (chopped)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 lemons (chopped)
1 tablespoon turmeric
Pulse everything for 20-30 seconds in a food processor, or blender. I use a blender with a metal drive and it works great to grind everything up. Strain through cheese cloth and pour into individual two ounce bottles.(I use these) Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Drink an ounce to two ounces a day, which is about a shot glass size. If you don't use the one ounce containers you can store all of it in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and just pour a shot glass size every day instead.
Positive affirmations this week:
Unfortunately, when you start to get better, you're also going to get really sad. The hard truth of getting better means revisiting things we aren't comfortable with. During my therapy sessions there's many times I had to stop to reposition my mind in order to be able to talk about the hard things. One incident in particular took me almost three months to completely get my feelings, trauma, and emotional state out, because it was hard for me to get past the sadness. Overall, it's something that has to happen and it's the worst part of therapy. A positive with it is that once we get past the sadness you start to get better. It's true and it's such a wonderful feeling getting past that sadness. You can do this! You can get better! You are going to be okay! We are broken for a moment, but then repaired for a lifetime. Remember, you aren't your trauma. It happened to you, it doesn't define you and you are strong! ♥
We love little paper neighborhoods, like our one from The Neighborhood from Vivint, and this week we found these at IKEA.
2. These Items.
Our Might Nest shipment this month included sunblock as the Might Fix and I added on compostable food wrap. We have cut our plastic use by 95% in our household and this wrap will help with that journey. You can check out everything Might Nest has to offer and sign up for their Mighty Fix that comes once a month here.
3. These Eggs.
I've been trying to get better at my cooking, especially basic cooking skills. These eggs were a test to see if I could actually do it without burning them. They were a bit overdone on the bottom, but progress was seen and tasted.
4. These Clippers.
These clippers were used on Baz each summer and since his passing I've been hanging onto little things that bring memories of him. Lately, I've been "letting go" of things like this. I'm still living in the land of the dead, but small steps are helping me slowly accept that he is gone. Meia's nose prints are still on the bedroom window. I'm not quite ready for those yet. One day at a time.
5. This Award.
Skylar has been doing great in his job and he is slowly gaining knowledge of vehicles. This week he won a training award for knowledge of parts sold through the company. Even though he is 18, we are still always so proud of his accomplishments and success.
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.
Love how it looks right now. When we are inside our home, or sitting in our backyard, for a moment we forget we live in the middle of a city.
2. This Moon.
This past Sunday was a full moon named Blood Moon -Super Flower/Full Milk. We had a decent view of it from our backyard, but through the telescope, the view can't be beat. Lunar Eclipse was also able to be seen on Sunday, but we here on the west coast didn't get a good view. Holding out for 2024 for the total solar eclipse that will happen once again, but a full lunar eclipse would be awesome to see. (On May 18, we also got a view on the Spring Triangle. It's a grouping of stars in the sky that literally form a long triangle. It's stars of Spica-Virgo, Arcturus-Bootes, and Regulus-Leo.
3. These Spots.
Anxiety affects everyone suffering with it a bit differently and sometimes it can affect the person with a completely different symptom. When I hear that anxiety is all in your head these are the moments that people don't see. I call these spots my cheetah spots. They pop out in high anxiety situations, but when and where those situations happen varies. It could be just going into a store, a classroom, work, or an appointment. It could be sitting in traffic, feeling overwhelmed with stress, or even lack of confidence to a particular situations, or person. Sometimes certain comments made towards me also have an affect. I used to avoid being social when these cheetah spots would appear. It upset people, especially "family" that we would not show up at a planned event. They took it personally, but what they didn't see was what was happened behind closed doors. These spots eventually fade after about an hour, but the physical response of high levels of anxiety aren't all in your head. It's a genuine condition that shouldn't be taken lightly by anyone. There are coping mechanisms like the necklace around my neck in this picture, but overall, it will always be present. And, the fact that I can control it even just a small bit, gives me comfort. Don't tell people their emotions, responses, or even mental health issues are all in their head. It does more long-term damage to that person than you realize. And, be kind. Not everything people are going through is about you.
4. This Kitten.
Skylar and I visited the local animal shelter to donate a few things and walk through to see all of the animals up for adoption. I try to donate dog food around Baz's birthday and cat food around Meia's birthday. It's my way of giving back in such a way that makes me keep their memory alive and makes me feel good about helping out other animals. Meia's cat food donation has always been in the form of her favorite food, but Baz's donation has been random things he loved; soft foods and soft treats. These little kitties in this room were so playful and fun to watch. When I walk through the shelter at times I see small glimpses of Baz and Meia. I always tear up, but it's more of happy to see these small glimpses than tears of sadness. I miss them so terribly bad, but I do believe in spirits and I know they are watching me, love me, and are proud of me.
5. This Sleet.
Random bout of hail fell this week. We had been sitting outside and had just walked inside and we heard loud picking sounds hitting the windows. Weather lately is so confusing. Never know exactly what's going to happen here. Definitely didn't expect hail to fall during a 70 degree day.
I've been using a lot of lavender oil lately, the Lavandula angustifolia variety to be exact, in order to help with my anxiety and sleeping habits. My go-to brand of essential oils is Pranarōm because of the quality of the oils. Lavender helps in slight anxious conditions and situations, and it definitely does help relax your mind at the end of the day in order to get more restful sleep. You can get this same lavender oil here.
2. This Sunset.
Sometimes the sunsets here really hit me right in the heart. I like to refer to these sunsets with the pink as Meierzsky, in honor of my sweet little Meia and her pink nose, and paws. I feel like sometimes when I see this pink at night, especially after a very hard day, it's her saying, "You can do this. I am thinking of you. You are loved, and I miss you."
3. These Boxes.
The first box is Might Nest and as I always say, I love this box. You can snag the May Mightyfix here. Kiwi Eco Box is the second one and again, never disappointed with this box either. You can grab the May Kiwi Eco Box here. And, the last two pictures are of Kinder Box. I haven't been getting this box long, but I have yet to be disappointed in it. Skylar and I have been focusing on Self-Care-Sundays and this box really is a hit on those days. Really looking forward to trying out the lip scrub and face scrub this coming Sunday. You can get May's box here.
4. These Meals.
We've been embracing cooking at home more and more lately. We've noticed a big difference in our money savings and the quality of the food. The top on is a take on a dipping sandwich, but instead of the oil dip, it's vegan cheese. The bottom image is our homemade take on a fast food breakfast sandwich. It's Dave's Killer Bread English Muffins, Horizon Organic American Cheese, organic eggs, and Beeler's Sausage. Both meals were absolutely delicious!
5. These Workouts.
ICE-T joined up with Cheerios to bring four Heart Healthy workouts to help keep you motivated. You can find the QR code on select, Heart Healthy Cheerios boxes, but here's a link to them, too.
Life at a "Swell's" pace is a lifestyle and travel blog chronicling the life and travels while living in Oregon's beautiful Willamette Valley. It is mostly written by Shelly HW. Click the image to learn more»
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