Five Simple Things (May 30)

 Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These items.

Kiwi Eco Box came this week and it was packed with good things, as always. The Triloka incense cones with the glass burner was a nice surprise. I also love the canvas and mesh bags. Kiwi Eco Box is owned by Ukrainian sisters, and each month I love that I can support them, and Ukraine.

2. This sticker.

This sensory sticker was part of Skylar's swag bag from Spring Fest at Linn Benton Community College. I love how simple, yet beneficial it is. Skylar let me have it and I have is stuck near my laptop keyboard to remind me to breathe and relax from time to time. Having anxiety in many forms, breathing helps in tough situations. Here are similar ones here.

3. This kid.

More days of seeing Skylar off to class. I just love these days!♥

4. This pizza.

We tried the Costco pizza this week. It was decent. We had to season ours with some Italian Seasoning, but overall, it is alright, especially for the price.

5. This swag.

This swag was from Spring Fest at Linn Benton Community College that Skylar went to this week. Spring Fest at LBCC is an event, sort of like a welcome event, but they hold it in spring to welcome new students to the campus. Skylar being part of the Commuter Magazine for the college, he attended to promote the Commuter. He stood at the Commuter table and passed out information on students wanting to get involved with the Commuter. This was all of his swag he picked up that day. One of the items being the sensory sticker I mentioned above.

One last thing:

I love Starbuck's Cheese Danishes, but I wanted to see if I could duplicate that same taste quickly at home. Starbuck's is a wonderful place to go from time to time, but it does add up in price. My go-to is the Vanilla Chai Latte and the warmed Cheese Danish, but let's make it healthier. I experimented a little bit before getting it right. We did still eat the mistakes, but this the the recipe that works for us. You can tweak it a bit to suit your taste, however.

Quick Cheese Danish

8 oz. cream cheese, softened [I used Organic Valley]

1/2 cup sugar [I used organic granulated sugar]

2 teaspoon lemon juice [I used organic Santa Cruz]

3/4 teaspoons vanilla paste [I used Simply Organic]

2 cans crescent rolls [I used Immaculate]

Preheat your oven to the temperature that the crescent roll container states. If you are using the Immaculate brand, it is 375 degrees. Pop your crescent rolls, and lay them flat. Attach two triangles to make a square. Smash them together, but not too flat. Use a rolling pin if needed. Lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside. In a stand mixer mix cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and paste together until smooth. Taste to make sure it suits your taste. I always use a bit more lemon juice, almost two tablespoons, but start with two teaspoons and work up to make sure you don't get it too sour for your taste. The mixture will lose a bit of the sour taste as it bakes, so play around with what works for you and your pallet. 

Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls and leave a bit of space on the edges. I like to fold up the edges just a bit to hold the mixture in the middle, but you don't have to do that part. I also do not make a glaze to go on top, but that is a personal choice, as well. Spread evenly across the crescent roll top. Bake for 11 to 14 minutes, or until the edges of the Danishes turn a golden brown. Allow to cool a bit before serving. They are delicious hot.

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Positive affirmations this week:
Maybe you need this reminder, maybe not, but life isn't a race. You aren't too old, you aren't running out of time, and you aren't in a race. The only person you should be competing with every day is yourself. A lot of people lost sight on what's important and appreciating where you are in life's journey is the most important thing in life. Even if you want to be somewhere else in your path, give it time and get there with a smile, rather than a frown. You are exactly where you are supposed to be. Let it come to you in time. You are going to change the world!
You can do this!🌈

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (February 7)

 Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This branch.

Every time I drop Skylar off at LBCC I've been watching this branch. It's a bit of a misfit branch that has grown in a direction unlike the other branches around it. Every time I see it I say in my mind, "Hold strong, little branch! Hold strong!"

2. This sifter.

It's new and it is a lot of fun to use. We sifted brownie mix with it recently and it made for a fun time in the kitchen for us all. *It's the little things, right?*

3. This kitty.

Always watching.

4. This food.

Super Bowl Sunday has us eating all the cheat meals. These 🌶 poppers are amazing!

5. These tags.

Always a positive message on the tags of the teabags from Yogi tea.

One last thing:

These cute pocket flower press and travel journal are now in the shop.

This Pocket Sized Flower Press is 2" x 4" with 1.25" bolts. Handmade and coated in an oil finish to preserve the wood and a lavender design carved into the top. The kit includes: Flower press, three cardboard inserts, and eight reusable blotting papers. It is a great addition to carry with you on hikes, or camping to press your favorite finds from flowers to leaves. The "My Travel Journal" has hand drawn details by bestselling artist Korie Herold and offers guided prompts, space for mementos, and cloth cover with foil accents. It also have archival quality paper with hand drawn artwork throughout.

You can check out the rest of the Five Simple Things shop here.

Positive affirmations this week:

Sometimes removing the stressors is all that you need to do to slow things down.

You can do this!🌈

Have a nice weekend.

Welcome Day (Linn Benton Community College)

 I attended welcome day this week with Skylar at Linn Benton Community College. It was raining off and on throughout the day, but we had a great time. He got to meet a lot of his peer counselors, the dean of the school, and assistant dean, a few of the heads of departments, and he learned who his advisor would be for the first term. Linn Benton Community College had first time students go on a scavenger hunt and I was allowed to do the scavenger hunt with Skylar. We got to see the renovated courtyard, too. It is absolutely beautiful. It looks a lot cleaner and more cohesive since I attended LBCC. The day was a great day and I love being part of Skylar's journey through his college years. I am excited for Skylar to start his college experience here. 

Skylar's Graduation from LBCC

 Being a homeschooled student Skylar was able to graduated with his Education Degree from Linn Benton Community College (LBCC) this week. He had practice earlier in the day and in the evening it was the ceremony. Skylar was nervous, but he did a fantastic job and we are all so proud of him. He has been focusing on his next steps after graduating from the Rain Valley Red Snails homeschool classroom, and now graduating from LBCC he is focused on attending LBCC to further is education. He would like to attend Arizona State University, but Jeff and I are hoping he will stay more at home and possibly attend University of Oregon, or Oregon State University. That decision will come later, but for right now we are proud of how far he has come. He is focused on a Paleontology or Oceanography degree. Whatever path he takes, Jeff and I are so proud of him and we are his biggest fans no matter what he chooses.

About two weeks before his Linn Benton Community College graduation, I placed graduation signs in the yard to display how proud we are of Skylar and his accomplishments. We can not express how proud we are with just yard signs, but at least everyone driving/walking by knows how much we are.

His transcript and diploma came a few days before his cap and gown came. The excitement he felt was incredible! I was so happy to see him happy.

We went to the graduation practice earlier in the day of June 13, and Skylar was able to wear his graduation hat while he learned where he needed to go and where he was going to sit.

After practice we went home and he changed into his dress clothes and gown. We took a few pictures in front of the house next to the school bell. He was starting to get a little nervous as we got closer to the time.

We got back on the campus about an hour before the ceremony. One this Jeff and I wanted to do was find a good seat so we could take a lot of pictures.

Skylar was right in the front, so we were able to see him almost immediately when the procession started.

He had a smile on his face the whole walk through to his chair.

We are so proud of you, Skylar!

Skylar's friend Mar that he met in one of his classes. She is a wonderful person and we love her.

We had a great time, and we are so proud of every single person that got a degree or diploma the same time Skylar did, even the dog go his own degree.

We were also thrilled that we were able to get his 2024 tassel charms from the same place we got his 2022 tassel charms from. It always makes me feel good to support small businesses, and to keep being returning customers. They did a wonderful job on his 2022 tassel charms, so we were pleased with the 2024 ones, as well.

Skylar got a lot of LBCC swag, too. It was fun sorting through all of it with him. He gave a lot of it away, but we kept a few things for ourselves.

I sorted through the picture proofs from the professional photographer that took pictures the day of the graduation. They were up on the website today and I ordered all of them, as well as a few wallets, and larger prints for my parents. I can't help but tear up a little looking at them. I am just beaming with pride at his success.

Skylar asked for a weight bench for his graduation gift. We got him a small one to see how he likes them. Of course, he loved it and has been using every day for a week since it came in. Looks like we will have to invest in a better one now. For now, this one isn't bad at all. We ordered it from Amazon and it's actually easy to assemble and even easier to use.

One of my favorite pictures from the day.❤