Life at a "Swell's" pace

Night at the Arcade

We took some time away from everything and played at Arcade Fun at the Two Rivers Market Mall in Albany, Oregon. It's been awhile since we've been to an arcade, so it was a lot of fun and kind of nostalgic for me.

Five Simple Things (November 12)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Box.

We're been enjoying out shipments from Misfits Market again this week. One thing we've noticed is that it helps keep us in control of our portion sizes. I honestly haven't been the grocery store in over four weeks because of these shipments. It's a great way to stay on an all-organic diet, and a great way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet weekly. You can sign up to get this box here and get $10 off your first order.

2. This Kitty.

I mean...♥

3. These Chopsticks.

I found these while out doing other errands and I am curious about how they will work for hair buns. More on this later.

4. This Pinterest.

I've been pinning a lot of great ideas for our land, house, and even our future bus conversation we have in the works. If you're on Pinterest, too, I'd love to connect and share ideas. You can follow me here.

5. This Trailer.

Skylar and I are pretty excited about the new season of "Stranger Things." The new season is supposed to hit sometime in March of 2022 and we are anxiously waiting for it. We absolutely love this series and we are excited to see where they take it.

Did you catch the moon near Venus this week (7), or Mars near Mercury (9), or the moon near Jupiter and Saturn (11)?

Positive affirmations this week:

This was a moment that I posted on my story on Instagram this week. I got a few messages in return that they were grateful that I posted this and reminded them that everything is okay and that it helped them. I think that's the best reward for me in posting my vulnerable moments to the public and online. There is a moment of not feeling alone with your struggles, but it's mostly that you're fine and everything you're doing for yourself and the efforts you're making to better yourself are what others are facing, too. You can do this! You really can! Don't let other people that are not where you are hold you back. Your pace is yours, and mine is mine and we are all going to be okay.

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (November 5)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Car.

Finally set a date and time to begin the repairs on my car from my car wreck. We are going with Freebird Body and Paint in Corvallis, Oregon, and I am thrilled that they are working with us so much on all of the damage. I highly recommend them. I can not wait to get my car back and memories of my car wreck being put behind me with this huge step.

2. These Boxes.

These were the Mightyfixes for September and October of this year. The September "fix" was the 100% cotton Kitchen Conversions tea towel and the October "fix" was the Mother Dirt prebiotic deodorant. Both of these were a great addition to our minimal practices and our efforts in using more sustainable and healthier products. You can sign up for the next Might Nest Mightyfix here.

This month's goodies from Kiwi Eco Box. Love the rice spoons and Matcha Tea. You can sign up for this box here.

Our last box from Mullybox. We tried them for a year and loved each and everything we were sent, but we decided to end it and explore other monthly boxes now. There are so many out there and trying a few out at a time is a lot of fun. If you are interested in this box, you can sign up here.

3. This Stick.

We finally upgraded our Amazon Fire Stick this week and are currently waiting on the new one. This Fire Stick above we've had since November 2014. It's been literally seven years we've had this Fire Stick and it's been great all those years, but the last few months we noticed it skipping, or pausing at certain times. We figured it was definitely time for an upgrade. This Fire Stick is part of the first generation Fire Sticks that came out on November 2014, and we were one of the few people that started using it with our television. We have had a great relationship with Amazon all these years and we can't wait to get our new one and continue that relationship. If you want to give the Amazon Fire Stick a try, you can sign up here.

4. This Fog.

I love fog and I love even more capturing fog at just the right time. If you weren't aware I have another Instagram account dedicated to all of the fog pictures that I take when we are road tripping, driving around, or out and about. I've seen a lot of great fog moments and we can see all of these here at my account Fog Pictures.

5. This List.

We've been trying to eat more in season fruits and vegetables along with our all organic choices. There are weeks where it's completely easy to incorporate a seasonal product, but sometimes it's a challenge. I remind myself that we are looking for improvement each time, not striving for perfection. For someone like me that hates cooking, it is a challenge, but it's getting better and easier slowly.

Did you catch Uranus in its brightest position of 2021 this week (5), or even the new moon bringing large tides on the third?

Positive affirmations this week:

I think one thing that happens as we age is being grateful that we didn't get what we thought we needed, or wanted. It's hard to understand why at the time, but I look back on things I thought I wanted and I'm actually okay with not having them. But, I will admit, there are a lot of things I want that I still haven't gotten. I like to look at these as moments of patience. Eventually those things will make there way towards me, or I will learn a new lesson on why they aren't good for me. It's all about time and that's all we all have, time.

Have a nice weekend.

Halloween Recap 2021

We normally do cotton candy for Halloween, but since the pandemic we've held off on the cotton candy spinning and stuck to passing out candy instead. Of course, we don't get as many trick-or-treaters as we did when we spun the cotton candy, but we still have a nice time with all the ones we do get.

Jeff dressed up as a monk and even rang the bell during the night. It had a spooky factor to it, so of course I loved it.

Even though we didn't spin cotton candy for trick-or-treaters, we still spun it for ourselves. We bought this cotton candy machine here and it came a few weeks before Halloween. The only cotton candy sugar we use is Spun Paradise, and it's the best out there for organic cotton candy sugar. We love it!

Skylar and I dressed up as doctors for Halloween. Skylar has been talking about going to medical school, but since the pandemic he has held off going right away after he graduates. We will support him 100% no matter what and in whatever he decides to do.

Bloody handprints on our neighbor's door.

Our neighbor also had a Halloween scene in his driveway with the Demogorgon from Stanger Things. Skylar and I are huge Stranger Things fans, so this scene was definitely something we loved.