Five Simple Things (July 17)

 Hello.

The riots here go from calm one night to explosive the next night. I can't blame people that are protesting on how they feel, but with destruction of businesses and people's property, the message is getting lost in the chaos. I don't feel BLM is to blame for all of this. This presidential term has caused so much unnecessary problems. It's almost like watching Biff Tannen ruin Hill Valley. I hope there's changes coming in November. There's just too much going on for the 2020 year. I am ready for some positives and some good vibes. Our fire season started on July 5, too. It's been so dry here that I hope our sprinklers can keep up with everything. The grass is crunchy, so that's not a good thing. The highest numbers of infection rate for the United States hit this week, too. Oregon has had five more deaths, one being a 34 year old man. This brings our state death total to 254 now. We are doing our part and only leaving the house for essentials and necessary items. Let's hope there's some positives coming in the following weeks. Here are five things from this week.

1. The Moon.

We've been looking at the stars, planets, and the moon through Skylar's telescope lately and it's given us all a better appreciation for our planet. The constellations and planet alignments we've seen has been amazing.

2. This Cat. 

On one of our walks this cat decided to put on a show for us. It just rolled over and started batting the air. I don't know who lives here, but their cat is extremely entertaining. 

3. These Miles.

Two times this week we took the same route for our miles. I haven't had a lot of energy this week, so the .8 miles twice was an accomplishment. 

4. This Pizza.

We got lazy one night and decided to have pizza we haven't had in awhile. We used to love this pizza a lot, but lately it seems that the flavor is off, or we've just grown away from that taste. We have been eating a lot more organic and local foods, so it could be that our taste buds have changed. 

5. This Question.

Like, what?...

Positive affirmations this week: We must raise ourselves up to be better people. We must raise our children up to be better people. And, we must raise our expectations of others to be higher. Don't ever belittle yourself, or make yourself smaller to fit someone else's narrative. Be better.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

― Maya Angelou

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (July 10)

 Hello.

This week we celebrated Fourth of July. We were wondering whether we would be able to buy fireworks, but we ended up buying a large and small package of them at the grocery store when we went to get a few things for the week. Also, the night of fireworks the moon was huge! It was almost like it was glowing bright to let us all know that better things are on the way. This year so far, has been really hard on us. With my surgery recovering being rough, Jeff's hours being cut at work, the pandemic, wondering how we're going to get through the next week, lack of sleep, and additional city and state stressors, 2020 is not the best year for us. I just hope the next three months are a bit smoother for us. Here are five things this week.

1. This View.

This view is in the direction of Brownsville, Oregon. This time of year it's always a pretty view. The yellow in the distance is butterweed. And, sometimes there's sheep in the field, but this week it looked almost "Sound of Music-like."

2. This View, Too.

This home is supposedly owned by Sam Elliott, the actor. We aren't exactly sure, but supposedly he owns a home near Harrisburg, Oregon. This isn't in Harrisburg, Oregon, but it's close. Either way, it's a beautiful home and the surrounding land and the view is amazing.

3. These Miles.

I've added more miles to my total over the past week. It's slow-going, but I'm feeling a bit better that I've been keeping myself moving. On the movie World War Z, Brad Pitt's character says, "movement is life." It's true.

4. This Art.

The summer months open the door to more and more sidewalk chalk art. We've been creating our own, as well as enjoying other people's art throughout the city here, and around other areas we've been to. Chalk art really isn't given enough credit. Same with sand castle art and graffiti. Embracing the beauty in these things makes it a lot easier to enjoy the little things. And, honestly, it's the little things in life that need to be appreciated more.

5. These Shadows.

I've been enjoying reading the Lunch Lady Magazine lately. I have purchased the digital versions, because they're Australian, so I can't get the print editions. They have some of the best educational articles, recipes, amazing diys, and I am just loving them. You can get the digital issues here. 

Positive affirmations this week: "How do you manage stress when it gets to be too overwhelming?"

I started creating a stress inventory. Something I read in a magazine article stated that the best way to control our hormone imbalance is stress management. Stress contributes to a lot of issues, even basic issues. Headaches, stomach aches, premature aging, sleep, even our memory can be affected. The stress inventory helps identify the stressors that we can actually change. I write them down, and write down ways they can be changes and when they can be changed. It falls along the lines of goals, but also gives you some relief knowing that you can indeed change them. Other stressors, like ones caused by other people, those are ones that we literally have no control over, so just let them go. Those are not your stressors those are other people's and we have enough to worry about before taking on other people's issues. Letting go of things we can't control really does break away a lot of stress. It just takes practice to be able to identify which ones are ones we can control and which ones we can't. Writing them down helps us differentiate from the two. 

Have a nice weekend.

Full Buck Moon

 

We sat outside on the night of the fifth and watched for the Full Buck Moon. It was a calm and quiet night and almost spooky, in a way. There were a few fireworks still going off in the distance, but nothing too disrupting. Once the moon came out we were not disappointed. 

Fourth of July

 How our Fourth of July went...

We literally didn't go anywhere and all we did was sit outside on the street and shoot fireworks. We cooked a small meal and ended up watching movies the rest of the night and going to bed early. With the pandemic and still me healing from my surgery, I just didn't have the energy to do much of anything. Skylar did great for the fireworks show he out on and he was a simple, fun, evening. It was a good day.

Can you find the rabbit?

 

Five Simple Things (July 3)

 Hello.

Nothing really more to report on the Coronavirus pandemic here in Oregon, but reading the numbers they just keep going up and up. We just keep wearing masks, social distancing from others, and only going out for supplies. Our emergency stock of food is almost gone. I'm pretty upset about that; it took awhile to build that up. But, I can't be too upset, it is the reason why you have a stock, to use it in emergencies and I think this is an emergency. There are a few items in there that needed to be rotated out, anyway, so it's a good thing we were able to go through those before they expired. Otherwise, we've just been staying at home and not going out as frequently. Jeff has been still coming in through the garage entrance and keeping things clean otherwise. The sun was out all week and we got a chance to actually go outside and enjoy some of it. It's been really dry here, though, so we've been watering a lot more than normal. Hopefully, it won't be too dry of a summer. Here are five things this week.

1. These Snails.

Skylar has been keeping a few pet snails lately. He has three in this small jar, but we are looking into getting them a large terrarium and maybe making it a snail habitat for our homeschool classroom. More on this later.

2. Hardy and Fern.

Fern (our male mallard duck) has been following Hardy around and standing "guard" next to him lately. We think it's because Fern has taken a liking to Hardy, but sometimes he pecks at him, so we are watching them closely. 

3. This "Jacket."

I still can not believe how many yellow jackets, or tracker jackers, as Skylar calls them (Hunger Games reference), there are here in Oregon. It's as if the summer months hit and they are out in swarms. We've had issues in the past with the yellow jackets making their nests in the car rearview windows, garage door handle, or even in the clothes line poles. They may help with pollination, but they are annoying, to some degree. 

4. These Mallards.

While getting and moving more Skylar and I have been walking down a lot of side roads and roads outside of town. These wild mallards were swimming along the roadway in the flooded ditch. They let us get just close enough before they took off. It was a nice moment I was able to capture.

5. These Ducklings.

While out getting some supplies and groceries for our house, we spotted these ducklings along the side of the road in downtown Albany, Oregon. We were kind of shocked to see them in the city, but they seemed to know what they were doing. The mother duck wasn't anywhere around at the time, but they were very alert and seemed to know how to protect themselves. 

Positive affirmations this week: "What are your tips on grounding for anxiety, stress, PTDS, and/or emotion overload?"

One of the most affective ways is THC, low doses. I use a lot of CBD and THC products lately in order to help me calm myself more affectively. Sometimes I need a bit of a boost along with my breathing techniques and mind calming procedures. This flyer has a lot of great information, as well. I don't do all of these options on the flyer, but I do burn incense, use essential oils, take belly breaths, eat or drink something, laying down, or even going for a walk/run. All of these things have helped me a lot. They don't always work, but for the most part, they do.

Have a nice weekend.