Five Simple Things (April 8)

 Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These Boxes.

Our garden boxes are getting an overhaul this week. We first added the metal brackets to the side to further enforce the sides and we are also going to give them a black stain coat on the wood. We are looking forward to a reset on these boxes and to start a new growing season on the right foot. More on this to come soon.

2. This Meal.

We are making more and more meals at home lately, well for the past year, actually. We are enjoying experimenting with a lot of different things that we haven't made before. This plate is a great example of our "at home" meals. We were quite pleased with this one, and everything on this plate is 100% USDA organic; even the bread.

3. This Catnip.

 

Eleven is loving her treats of catnip from time to time. She is such a funny and cool cat. Check out the above videos to watch the catnip craziness. 

4. This Box.

This week's Misfits Market haul. We are just loving this grocery delivery service. This entire haul here was under $200. We have saved so much by using Misfits Market and you can sign up for their service here and use code: COOKWME-JB2ROZYPHAD at checkout and get $10 off your first box.

5. This Waste.

We haven't drank the water in our city in about three years now. We used to use a water delivery service, but stopped that, as well and started filling our own water bottles. We travel to Corvallis and fill four five-gallon jugs and one three gallon. The water fill that we use only gives five gallon and one gallon options on the machine. After filling our five gallons I pushed it again out of habit. Wasting all of the two gallons of water that the machine poured out in my mistake. *sigh* This was the first time I've made this mistake, but I will definitely not repeat it.

Positive affirmations this week:

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (April 1)

 Hello. Happy April Fool's Day.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Oil.

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.

Workout 1: Walk On

Workout 2: Feel the Stretch

Workout 3: Put Your Heart Into A Core Workout

Workout 4: Dance Your Heart Out

Positive affirmations this week:

Have a nice weekend.

End of March 2022 (1 Second Every Day)

 

Five Simple Things (March 25)

 Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Food.

Been getting better as consuming the right amount of calories every day. Some days are harder than others, but I do see progress happening and it feels good to know that I can still have control, but in a healthy way.

2. This Breakfast.

Breakfast in bed and a positive message in my tea, what a great start to the day!

3. This Moment.

Pretty much sums up my Friday nights after a long week. It's a shame that all four of the Golden Girls have passed away now. 

4. This Box.

Our Misfits Market haul this week. We decided to give their cold packs a try and we were not disappointed. The cold packs contain meats, cheeses, and dairy and it's a flat $30. It's well worth the price when compared to the grocery store. You can sign up for Misfits Market here.

5. This Bruise.

Sometimes surfboard injuries leave marks. 

Positive affirmations this week:

This AMA was posted on Instagram on an account I've been following for awhile now. They did a follower AMA and this was one of the questions, but it was the answer that I truly felt. Unsolicited advice from others is definitely a lot, if not all, of our pet peeves. When others give you advice without you asking, it's just their opinion or projection being pushed onto you. Try to practice thinking in a different way than getting offended. When anyone gives you advice on a situation, whether you asked for their advice or not, look at it differently than an insult. I've listened to so many different people over my 40+ years on what they think is best for me, or what they think I should be doing, but overall their advice never made me stray from who I really am and what I really wanted in life. Going with the flow of your own path and what you want deep down, no matter what advice you get, it won't cause you to stray from your personal goals, and plans. Practice thinking in a way that no matter what anyone says, it's always "just their opinion." You can do it!

Have a nice weekend.

Sometimes Wants (Spring '22)

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

1.2.

3.  4. 

5.  6.

7. 8.

9.  10.

1. Been doing a lot more drinking of nut milk than regular milk lately, especially in our daily smoothies. I've recently come across 100% organic cotton nut milk bags and they are so much easier to wash after each milking than the ones we had before. 
2. We have been using reusable shopping bags for quite sometime now, but with the pandemic we stopped and began running bigger errands, especially during lockdown. During that time I found a new way to use our mesh bags with storage of potatoes, onions, oranges, apples, and even avocados. With hooks hung and the bags hanging from the hooks, it has been super convenient in our kitchen. Hoping to carry the organization onto our school bus, too.
3. With the change of the season it was time to get some warmer, and better quality slippers. I've taken a big interest in natural wool products and these slippers are fantastic. In Oregon the season of spring still means freezing temperatures and living in a not-so-good insulated house, wool slippers are great. Another good brand is Kyrgies. 
4. With the season of spring here now a lot of different celebrations are taking place-weddings, births, pregnancies, graduations, new hobbies, travel plans, and even spontaneous celebrations. I have recently discovered these "passports" from Letterfolk. They are the perfect, little addition to tuck into a gift, or even as a small gift or favor. A lot of friends and coworkers will be getting these small tokens, and I've even snagged a few for myself.
5. We have hung these LED light strand up along our floating deck and it has really brought the whole area together. We don't have a lot of privacy living in the city, but what we have created in our back and side yard makes us forget sometimes that we are in a city and have close neighbors. These lights are great and we have them on a timer, too.
6. I've been changing the way I clean all the way around and with that I've switched to more eco-friendly cleaning tools. These wooden tools, no matter what brand they are, are a great switch. They are wooden and have replacement heads for the brushes when they get worn. I love the fact that they are plastic-free and actually make scrubbing less of a struggle.
7. Spring means a change in dish towels. I've found some great ones from Sur La Table. The ones pictured above are Turkish cotton and the ones here are 100% organic cotton. I snagged both and have been enjoying them a great deal.
8. Along the same lines as the mesh totes, we've been using collapsible totes in the back of the car for our groceries and other purchased items. We do most of our food shopping at either our local food co-op, or a Costco run when needed. Most people that know us well are surprised that we shop in bulk stores because of how earth-conscious we are, but buying in bulk is earth-friendly, too, when you get into the habit of knowing what to buy in bulk. We shop consciously and make sure not to purchase anything in excessive amounts of packaging, or that it's organic, or wild caught. We always leave the store with either our own bags, or not bagged/boxed, so we can add things to our totes once we're at the car.
9. One of the things we've been looking at lately is to replace our helmets. I've had a Giro helmet for the last 15 years. It's a great helmet and luckily I haven't crashed in it to have to replace it, yet. Although, I do love the Giro helmet, I think after 15 years it's time to retire it. Thousand Heritage Helmets have caught my eye. I like the way they look and they also have a better environmental footprint than others. The blue and white helmets pictured above are the ones we are really digging.
10. Lastly, along with spring cleaning comes cleaning up outdoor, too. I've been in search of an outdoor broom to use only outdoors and I found a good one. This one is heavy-duty, yet lightweight, and it's eco-friendly. It even sweeps away wet leaves.

Happy Spring Equinox!