Life at a "Swell's" pace

Five Simple Things (February 11)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Find.

On our recent trip to Olympia, Washington, we stopped in at the Olympia Food Co-op. I love visiting the different food co-ops throughout and seeing what their local items are. This caramel cashew bar is completely dairy-free and tastes amazing. Amy E's Bakery offers many dairy-free options, but I have to say, this caramel cashew bar is my favorite.

2. This Kid.

I just love him. He has turned into the most amazing human being I know. Kind-hearted, sweet, honest, and trustworthy. He has been working his first job over the past month and he has

3. This Geocaching.

Jeff and I spent an afternoon together doing some geocaching around our city while Skylar was at work for a few hours. We got into geocaching several years ago and every once in awhile we like to go out and find a few. We also have a geocache in front of our house named, "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

4. This Box.

This was the last box from Yogi Secret that I received. I canceled this subscription box, because it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Although it didn't work for me, I will say this box offers a lot of great items if you're looking to start a new subscription box. You can check this box out here.

5. This Kitty.

She's been down lately and I think it has to do with the lack of sunshine around here. Humans suffer from seasonal depression and I am most certain that animals suffer, as well. I've been giving her all the love, because honestly, we both needed it to get through this week.

Positive affirmations this week:

I'm not sure where I found this "A Guide to How to Feel," or who to give the credit to, but I wanted to share it. It's a great guide on how to navigate through certain feelings and emotions.

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (February 4)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These Snowflakes.

I removed our holiday snowflakes from the front door and window this week. This is the first year that I've used the washi paper snowflakes and we love them. You spray water on the window, place your snowflake and use a towel to remove the access water. You can snag these washi paper snowflakes here.

2. These Contacts.

Skylar got contacts for the first time this week and he is pretty pumped about being able to surf and be able to see better. He did great with them and so far so good.

3. This Surf.

The day started out great, but a storm rolled in in a short amount of time and put a damper on our surfing for the day. But, as the sun went down, even though the swells were choppy, the sun setting was a beautiful end to the day. Two hours of surfing is better than nothing.☻

4. This Closet.

Before and after. Still need to sort out the books and vinyl, but as of now, it's a lot more cohesive.

5. This Episode.

Our latest podcast episode is out and it's a sad one. Depends on what side of the truth you believe, but for us, this was the first one we've covered that we question everything about this case. The government either murdered these people, or these people were as they were hanged for. You be the judge. You can listen to this latest episode of Diabolic Evil and the podcast link at the top of the blog, or the Diabolic Evil website.

Positive affirmations this week:

There are many reasons someone acts "shy." There could be underlying issues that most people know nothing about. Most of the time my anxiety shoots up so high I end up talking a lot more than I planned to. I've been made fun of most of my life for being someone that "talks too much," or even worst "someone that doesn't shut up." Which, overall really hurt my feelings and actually hindered my self esteem about how bad my anxiety can get. I've even had someone tell me once when I wasn't talking a lot, "I'm not used to you being this quiet." It's really hard to navigate through anxiety and when it's going to get bad. Overall though, I'm not a talker. I actually don't like having conversations with people at all, no matter who they are. I would much rather stay quiet and in the shadows than even be spoken to. When I start talking to someone and talk fast, I falsely get labeled as a talker. But, supporting people with high levels of anxiety, especially when they are talking to you, don't discredit their words. A lot of people talk to talk, but you can definitely tell someone talking because of anxiety. Their speech is fast, their eyes look around, they're fidgeting, and at times you can even hear their voice tremble. But, there are also those that are shy and still talk. Here's why a lot of people with "shyness" seem to not talk as much as other times.

Their energy is already drained.
The people they are talking to have too much energy already.
They simply don't want to talk at that time, or to you.
Sometimes they just want to sit back and not engage.
They are interacting with someone that has previously pointed out their talking.

All five of these are points that I have experienced. Everyone's presence is important. How you treat people that already have issues speaking to you or anyone else, matters. Be mindful of the things you say to those that are dealing with more issues than they show on the outside and by all means, stop telling people they talk too much, or too little. If you feel that way, don't interact with the person that YOU think, "talks too much," or "you're not used to being so quiet." It's rude and extremely disrespectful.

Have a nice weekend.

End of January 2022 (1 Second Every Day)

Five Simple Things (January 28)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This View.

A lovely view of downtown Portland, Oregon, we took on our way back from purchasing our Thomas school bus. You can follow along with our conversion progress at the link of the top of the blog, or by clicking here. We are thrilled to share the ups and downs of our skoolie progress.

2. These Scones.

We've been eating scones every morning this week and enjoying whipped cream and cream cheese frosting on top. Although I added the blueberries, and mixed the topping, the scone mix and cream cheese icing can be snagged below. Click the image of the scone mix and the frosting.

(All I did for the scone mix was add half a bag of organic, frozen blueberries to the mix and bake. For the whipped cream cheese frosting, stir the frosting to make it fluffy and then fold in the whipped cream. Add to the top of the scones once they are cooled.)

3. These Turkeys.

These turkeys are sort of "famous" in this city. They have literally covered the entire city from north to south and keep multiplying. This is the first time I've seen them on the main street through the city, but mostly everyone leaves them alone. They've shown up in front of our house a few times pecking at the grass, but end up moving along pretty quickly.

4. These Brushes.

I recently made a trip into the Dollar Store here in our city, because I haven't been inside the store in awhile. Skylar took off to the toy section and I headed down the makeup/bath/body area. A lot of the makeup in the Dollar Store is cheaply made, but every once in awhile we find some winners. These makeup brushes were the winner for this trip. They are actually made well and I've already used them a few times to see how my sensitive skin would handle the bristles. No breakouts and less friction and pressure on my skin. They are a plus, in my opinion. Although the ones above are sold out, here are some similar that are a bit more pricey, but contains the exact same shaped contour brushes as pictured above.

5. These Boxes.

Kiwi Eco Box and Kinder Beauty, two of my current favorite subscription boxes. I love that the Kiwi Eco Box came with a seed calendar and I love that the Kinder Beauty box came with cream blush and face mask. This time of year it's important to keep the skin hydrated and I love that the Kinder Beauty box contains all cruelty-free products. You can snag the Kiwi Eco Box here and the Kinder Beauty box here.

Positive affirmations this week:

Some days I wake up and I'm overwhelmed with a spike of PTSD, depression, or a sense of sadness. I end up on those days laying in bed and crying. Not just tears, but a full on cry that actually hurts to let out. Some of those days I cry for almost an hour. I end up feeling the reason of why I am actually having that moment. My PTSD and depression seem to go hand in hand. I wasn't born with depression, or anxiety, but life sort of dealt that hand to me throughout my life. After the hard cry I got up, took a shower, got dressed, put on make up, ran several errands, baked some cookies with Skylar, made dinner, went for a walk, and the day seemed to correct itself and ended up being an alright day. Either a correction, or a moment that I gave to myself when I needed it. No one was there to comfort me during that moment, but I got through it. There is no shame in having those bad days. There's no shame in crying. There's absolutely no shame in having rough starts to your day. We deal with it, we press on, and we heal. We can do this!

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (January 21)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Wreath.

This wreath has been many years in the making. We always pick up a few "treasures" when we go certain places and over time I wasn't sure what to do with them all, until the wreath. I shove whatever it is we found right into the wreath. It has changed so much over the years and right now I really like how it all fits together. I'm sure it will continue to transform as the years go on, and it will always be special to us. We call it our foraging wreath.

2. This Kid.

Skylar had his first week of work and the above pictures are of his first day. I took him to work and we had a good talk in the car about growing up and having to deal with the public. It makes me sad to know that my little boy is now 18, has a job, and graduating high school this year. His first week went well and he is looking forward to growing and learning from AutoZone. Working with the public is tough, but it's a good stepping stone of a job.

3. This Movie.

We went to the movie theater to watch the new Scream movie. I am a huge horror fan, and a huge Scream fan, but this one fell short for me. It followed the Scream movie line and a lot of the main characters were seen throughout the movie, but something was missing for me. I enjoyed the movie overall, but definitely save your movie and wait to see this one once it's out of the theaters.

4. These Masks.

We switched up our mask game this week and changed out our surgical masks for N95 ones from 3M. With the new variants and not really sure what is the truth we will continue to wear ours. Science, or not, as an introvert with high levels of anxiety I enjoy hiding behind a mask. You can get these same masks here.

5. This Warning.

This warning scared me a lot this time. Although nothing happened, it still sets me on high alert. All these years of talk of The Big One, every time we get a warning, or even a slight change in the shifting, it worries me. I was on edge all day and into the next day because of this one. There were coastal warnings here that I've only heard one other time since I've lived here, because waves were up to 15 feet for a time. I am glad it didn't create anything significate, but because of the wildfires in 2020, we are always extremely alert to anything like this and have our go-bags ready. Hopefully, we won't have to use them anytime soon, or at all, but just in case.

Positive affirmations this week:

Work on selfcare this week. Here are some of my own selfcare ideas to help get you started. Although not all of these need to be done every day, picking one or a couple a day can help you stay focused on your own self-improvement. You can edit these options, or copy them down for yourself. Keep in mind, you need to do what's best for you, overall.