Five Simple Things (June 25)

Hello.

Last Friday evening we were in an accident. We were on our way to the coast to surf and a woman hit us on the driver's side towards the back and spun us around. In the process I hit my head on the driver's side window and had a concussion from it, as well as a bit of whiplash. I don't remember much after that, but I recall clearly before. I had gone to do a U-turn to see if something had fallen off the top of our car from our surfboard, and a woman coming down the road behind us wasn't paying attention and hit us. I still have no idea how she hit us other than she just wasn't looking. There aren't any obstructions or blind areas on that area of the highway. I never saw her after the wreck, but was told I kept asking if she was alright. Even in my worse position I was asking about someone else over myself. I do hope she is okay emotionally from what happened. Skylar and I still have some issues, but we are getting better. My car has damage on the diver's side, but it's still drivable and Jeff has been helping out a great deal with everything. He has dealt with the insurances back and forth, the Benton County Sheriffs that have called, as well as helping me get up and down and be able to remember things again. I've been having memory issues, but they seem to come at weird times. I forget if I've eaten, or what I ate, if I showered, or if I did a simple task like change my clothes, or where I put something. My head is painful on the side that I hit and I can't brush my hair right now. Jeff, Skylar, and I have been talking about it a lot just to get it all out. Skylar had seatbelt marks across his chest, but otherwise physically he is okay. Other than dealing with that this past week, we are all alive, the people in the other car are alive, and we are all okay. That stretch of highway sees a lot of car accidents that don't have good endings. I am glad to say we aren't one of those statistics and everyone involved is able to walk away. I wish I could say thank you to every single person that stopped to help us that day. No one cared about race, religion, political views, or even gender that day-everyone just wanted to help. I don't remember anything that day after the wreck, but I do remember a woman named Jane holding my hands and talking to me. I don't know if I will ever see her again, or if she was even real, or it was all in my head, but I want to say thank you to her. As well as, thank you to all of the people that stood with Skylar and comforted him while I was being cared for and taken in the ambulance. If for some reason anyone that was there that day sees this blog post, thank you so much for everything you did that day! I an forever grateful. Here are five things this week.

1. This Sunset.

Sometimes the evening sky here is amazing. We've gotten to naming this pink/red sky at night to Meirezsky and this week is was beautiful.

2. This Detergent.

I received Seveneth Generation Power+Laundry Detergent free for testing purposes from Seventh Generation as part of their Generation Good Advocate program. We normally use Purex for sensitive skin because Skylar and I have extreme sensitivity to certain perfumes, dyes, and even certain soaps. Most of the time we are fine with using Purex for sensitive skin, but we still have a few issues from time to time. We decided to give this detergent a try and the best thing about it is the fact that it does deliver on claims of being a powerful cleaning agent. It gets stains out that are normally stubborn or hard to remove even with scrubbing. The detergent is derived and powered by plants. The smell is less harsh than most detergents and has a light scent that doesn't linger on clothing. I've used it to wash out bed sheets, jeans, and even delicates and haven't had an issue with sensitivity. Only thing I didn't like, the giant plastic container it came in. Although it can be recycled, I would prefer something more environmentally friendly. There are pros with this detergent, though. It uses enzymes and surfactants to really get rid of some stubborn stains, it has 97% bio-based ingredients, and it's EPA Safer Choice Certified with 0% dyes, brightener, or artificial fragrances. 

3. This Sun.

From the morning sun to the evening sun. The sun hits the east windows around 6:00 a.m. and sets in the west windows around 9:45 p.m.

4. These Edibles.

 

Another edible I'm trying out for sleep. I can't take these for too many nights in a row because I don't seem to be able to shake the sleepy feeling the following day. I found using them on nights I am having a hard time falling asleep is when they work best. 

5. Summer Solstice.

June 20 marks the beginning of Summer Solstice and we are feeling the heat already. Our hottest day this week was today at 97 degrees, but we are supposed to get up around 100 this coming week. I love the heat over the cold, but too much heat is miserable. 

Positive affirmations this week: 

Staring at the ocean puts everything into perspective and makes my problems seem so small. The ocean-whether you love it or hate it, it remains the ocean. That is where I want my mind to be. At peace knowing that I am either loved, or hated, but overall I am just going to be. 

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (June 18)

Hello.

This week as been a mix of rain, gray, and chilly. Oddly enough I mentioned to Jeff that it's weird to wear a jacket still in June here. We were hoping to be able to head over to the coast to do some surfing, but we got caught up in other things this week. Our life is pretty simple, but sometimes everything seems to come at once. But, that's okay. It gives us some excitement from time to time. Last weekend though, we took some time to go over to Seaside. We haven't been there in awhile and it was a nice day trip to get out and about for the day. We rode a prom bike around the city and as many times as we've been to Seaside it was the first for all of us. It was fun, and there were other people on them, too. They were either riding with us, or would pass us going the other way. It was an interesting view of Seaside and we are definitely going to do it again. Here are five things this week.

1. These Strawberries.

Since the wildfires last year our strawberries have been struggling. But, this week we saw a little bit of red. We like to refer to the first fruit on our plants as the first gift of summer. It was nice to see a bit of life still left in our plants. Hopefully we can keep them going through all of the heat we are about to experience.

2. These Nachos.

We've been eating nachos this week every night. They are not only filling, but also a quick go-to meal for dinner. We have added random things each time and this night we had tomatoes and black olives. The night before it was avocado and onion. There's so many different varieties that you can make to mix it up.

3. These Ducks.

Just a few weeks ago we saw these same Canadian geese and their babies were smaller. It's nice to see them making it all in one piece. People like to harass the animals around the city and especially in this park, so it's nice to see them all together still.

4. This Cleaner.

This is the best cleaner for shower and bathtub cleaning. It smells great, environmentally friendly, and actually gets the job done. Meliora products are some of my favorite cleaning agents. You can pick this cleaner up here.

5. These Selfies.

I updated my about section here on the blog and decided to update it with some pictures of myself. You can read the updated version here. 

On June 17 did you catch the Summer Triangle: Vega, Deneb, and Altair, or the Crescent Moon above Mars? 

Positive affirmations this week:

Have a nice weekend.

Riding a Prom Bike around Seaside, Oregon

On our day trip to Seaside, Oregon, we decided to do something none of us had done before. We've been to Seaside multiple times and never once have any of us ridden a Prom Bike. But, we didn't just ride it, we rode it all over Seaside where it was allowed. It was a great way to see Seaside and we highly recommend it. Seaside has a different view from a Prom Bike going less than three miles an hour. We had a blast!

To check out more about the shop we rented our Prom Bike from, Prom Bike Shop on 12th Avenue is who we rented from. The workers, as well as the owners, are amazing and help make your ride more enjoyable.

Prom Bike Shop

622 12th Avenue

Seaside, Oregon 

97138

Astoria-Megler Bridge

This bridge spans over the Columbia River and stretches over four miles. It connects Astoria, Oregon, to Megler, Washington. It's one of our favorite bridges to travel over in the state of Oregon. It was also the showcase of our first Reel on Instagram. You can see that Reel here.

 

The Cove (Seaside, Oregon)

One of the more experienced surf spots in Oregon is The Cove in Seaside, Oregon. It's rocky and the waves are rough. We aren't quite ready to surf at The Cove, but we do take the time to check the areas out to see how far we are from being able to surf them. Hopefully soon, but we'll see. We are in no rush to speed up our skills and move from the foam boards, but we are anxious to try out other boards and new areas when the time is right. 

Five Simple Things (June 11)

Hello.

This week we saw the sun all of about five minutes on two days. It's been cloudy here and raining off and on for the past five days. I was hoping to get out and get some sunshine throughout this week, but no dice. Also, on Wednesday, I pulled something on the left side of my back. I've had a long recovery from my surgery and the back issues are normal during the "transition" phase, or so I was told. It's been a year since my surgery and I have come a long way since, but I wish it would go a bit faster, so I don't have issues like I do right now. We were hoping to go to the coast this weekend and get some surfing in, camp in the car, and just enjoy the moment, but with my back as bad as it is right now, I don't think that's going to happen. It's okay, I have things to do here that will be just fine. I would much rather heal correctly than aggravate it more surfing. Knowing my luck, I'd get up on a good wave and crash wrong and completely throw my back out and I would be miserable even longer. So, this weekend, we are homebodies. Here are five things this week.

1. This Redo.

Even though we rent, we like to keep things at least looking semi decent. We decided this week to repaint the front vestibule. It needed a coat of white pain on the walls and the ceiling (which hasn't been painted previously), and a nice coat of gray concrete paint on the floor. We think it looks a lot better.

Of course, during the process Skylar had to make our steps look like a ghost story, of sorts. But, you can see the before of how much it needed a new coat of paint desperately. 

2. This "Fix."

 

I love these Stasher bags from last month's Might Fix. We love taking these on day hikes, road trips, and even when flying. This month's "Fix" was a Baggu reusable shopping bag. Which, going along with our efforts to be more sustainable, this was a perfect one for us. You can get on the list for next month's Fix here.

3.  This Surfboard.

We finally were able to get our own surfboard. Renting was starting to get annoying. We went with the Wavestorm foam longboard to try it out and then plan on upgrading soon. This foam board is awesome for beginners.

4. These Boxes.

We have been getting the Mully golf box and the Cairn outdoor box for a year now and canceled this past May. We have fully enjoyed them, but we always try out of new subscription box for a year and find new ones to try out for another year. I do encourage these boxes to anyone that's into golf, or adding to their camping, hiking, or day trip stash. 

5. This Sky.

The two days of sun that we saw this week. It was cloudy skies mostly with a bit of rain. Which, given there's already wildfires burning here, we aren't complaining. But, hopefully more sunshine will come and we can at least soak in some Vitamin D this season. Vitamin D helps with depression and mental health, so it's always necessary, especially for me.

•Did you get a chance to see the Ring of Fire eclipse on June 10, or the Spring Triangle on June 6? Here on the west coast we didn't get a chance, but seeing pictures online of it reminded me of the total solar eclipse we got to see here in Oregon.

 

Positive affirmations this week: 

Have a nice weekend.