Life at a "Swell's" pace

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.

10.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!

Five Simple Things (March 18)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Business.

I first saw this company in Newport, Oregon, and thought their name and logos were right up my alley. It's nice to see them doing business in the Valley, too.

2. This Game.

We love CLUE in our house and recently we found a vintage, original one at an antique store. We have been steady playing back to back games every since bringing it home. Our board game is circa 1963. You can get a similar one here.

3. This Breakfast.

Breakfast in bed is always my love language.

4. This Growler.

Jeff finally was able to break out his uKeg, which was his Christmas present, and get it filled. It's a pretty cool growler and it holds 128 ounces, comes with Co2 cartridges, and is made in Portland, Oregon, by GrowlerWerks. It's a great growler for alcohol, but it can be used with any carbonated drink. It definitely does what it says. You can read more about it here and snag one for yourself.

5. This Kitty.

Eleven is always a card. We are patiently awaiting for the new season of Stranger Things, Eleven's namesake. She is hoping Hopper is still alive and it will be an awesome season this coming June.

Positive affirmations this week:

Grieving is normal and no one is allowed to tell you exactly how much time YOUR own personal grief should take. Our beloved pets, which a few have been gone for over three years now, we still grieve their loss, and we will continue to grieve for them and loved ones when needed. We feel what we feel and we let out what our body needs in order to help us work through the pain. The loss of a pet, or a loved one never gets easy, or better, but we get to where we get stronger in handling that loss. Grieve for love, for loss, or even for breakups and bad days. Don't ever let anyone tell you that crying when you need to is wrong. No matter what you're feeling. Feel your emotions and let your body heal through your grief. It's not wrong. Humans are meant to grieve, cry, and feel what they feel for a reason, don't punish yourself for having emotions. You are only human.

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (March 11)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Ducky.

We put Happy duck inside the bus to let her explore a bit. She was a bit unsure about it and was on guard the whole time, but with us there she seemed to know that she wasn't in danger. We're still trying to figure out how to keep the ducks on the bus when we do finally start traveling in it. As far as bus updates, you can keep up with our updates at the top of the blog under "No Rain" the bus conversion.

2. This Light.

After about 10 years we finally decided to replace our solar driveway light with a better one. Over the years the one we had has taken quite a beating. We are hoping to move the new one down a bit, so we can actually reach it and do maintenance if needed. The new one we went with is similar to this one.

3. This Garden.

Finally able to get outside and clean up the yard from the winter season. Glad to be able to get some sunshine while we cleaned out the garden boxes, too. Vitamin D is rare this time of year on the west coast of Oregon, but every bit helps when the sun does shine through the gray.

4. This Fix.

This month's Might Fix is a bamboo dish brush. We have really enjoyed these brushes since the first one we received came from Might Nest a couple of years ago. I love how environmentally friendly they are, and also love the fact that once they are at the end of their life you can compost them. You can get the April Might Fix here.

5. These Ducks.

Jeff sent me this picture while on his break at work this week. Now that we have our own mallards, it's always so strange seeing a few out in the wild and not "assume" they're like our ducks. Which, is not true, don't ever approach wild animals, or feed wild animals. Mallards in the wild do not have the same temperament as domesticated.

Positive affirmations this week:

Routine is medicine.