Five Simple Things (March 20)

 Hello.

Well, it's the day after my surgery and I am kind of not all here, and on pain medication, but here we are. I contemplated whether I should do a Five Simple Things post, but consistency and routine are good for me. I feel okay, overall, but hurting a lot, so I will keep this post short. We drove up to Portland the day before, and the day of my surgery we stayed the night in a hotel, and went back to my surgeon's office the following morning. He wanted to check on things before we drove back home. We live almost an hour and a half from my surgeon's office, so it would have been hard on me to get up and come all the way back just to have him check on stitching and bandages. But, we are home now, I am all set up, and all I want to do is sleep. I will share more information about my surgery, what I had done, and the progress, once I feel more comfortable and open about discussions. For now, I will lay in this bed and take care of myself.

1. These Tricycles.

Getting rid of things is kind of bitter sweet. These tricycles were Skylar's and he loved them. We've tried to sell them on Craigslist a few times, and even had people come out, with their kids, to try them out. We even had an old toy collector ask for them for a lower price than we were selling them, which was $25-pretty reasonable, but we didn't budge on the price and she wasn't happy about it. We feel they are worth the full $25. But, for now, they will remain in our attic and possibly just hang onto them until a time is right to either pass them along, or try to sell them again.

2. These Peanut Butter Balls.

We tried the peanut butter balls, or could be called buckeyes, recipe. It came out well, actually. They are pretty delicious, and you can modify this recipe to suit your needs, really. You can make them into a sort of energy ball, or add oats, flax seeds, or even hemp seeds. We'll be playing around with this recipe more and making these again soon.

3. This Drawing.

I just love history and the area where we live it is full of some great back history. It's a shame that the area doesn't embrace its past as much as it should. This area was once a really popular logging area and contained a lot of mills and millwright shops. This pictures is one of those places around the early 1900s. The warehouse in the picture doesn't exist anymore, but there have been donations and other volunteers working towards creating a museum to showcase some of these places from the past. We are looking forward to seeing it all come together in the coming years. 

4. This Word Play.

With having a lot of time on my hands before my surgery, I started playing Word with Friends. I had just enough letters to play Pig Sooie, but of course, it's not a valid word, but still would have gained me quite a lot of points. ☻

5. Photography.

Before I went up to Portland to check in for my surgery, I went around the county snapping some random pictures. I enjoy a lot of the farming and open landscape here and every season it just seems to take on a whole new view of the land. I wanted to have a lot of pictures to sort through during my recovery and this barn is one of those pictures. I think it turned out wonderfully and once we move (that is still on the works), I may frame a few of them, just to have as hanging art and a few memories of the area.

Positive affirmations this week: "What’s your favorite thing about yourself?"

The fact that I feel sorry for people that are self-sabotaging to themselves. Gossip, jealousy, and overall dissatisfaction, is self-destructive and I feel terrible that these people can't see above their own pride. I like the fact that I have empathy for them and wish they could see above their own ego. If you are one of these people reading this, step back and better your thoughts and actions towards others. Your best asset is your thoughts. Make them the best thoughts you can. I wish you the best.

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (March 13)

 Hello.

Happy Friday the 13th. I am less than five days away from my surgery and I am feeling the anxiety, let me tell you. As far as right now, nothing has been canceled or postponed because of the Coronavirus pandemic, but I am a bit concerned about that. Within our state, we have had more and more cases daily, and our governor here shut down all public and private in-person schools. The ski resorts across the state are all closing down, as well, to prevent the spread. Our county of Linn is still the highest in the state for cases. The Veteran's home here has the most reported cases, this far, and hopefully they can keep it contained for now. Five days from now, I will be put under and kind of get a sort of "escape" from all of this going on. Hopefully, it doesn't get any worse.

1. This Lava Rock.

I still find this fascinating that the State of Oregon uses lava rock from past volcano activity to apply to the roads in the winter. People that have lived around this their entire life, really take this small thing for granted. It's incredible to me, really and I will always find a "hidden" gem of Oregon.

2. This Field.

Construction crews broke ground on the field behind our house this past week. This field has always been a buffer between us and the train tracks, and prying eyes, but we are kind of bitter sweet about the construction. They are building duplexes and we just hope that it brings less foot traffic through the field and prevent people from jumping our fence. We also hope that the two-story duplexes will buffer the train whistle, too. 

3. This Burger.

We went to eat at the Newport Café in Newport, Oregon, this week. Skylar decided to take on the biggest hamburger they have on their menu. He ate about half and said he couldn't finish it. He did say it was very messy and hard to keep together, but he had lunch for a couple of days.

4. This Nest.

We weren't sure if this was an osprey nest, or an eagle nest. It was pretty large, so we are leaning more towards it being an eagle nest. Either way, it was one of the cooler nests we've seen here, so far.

5. These Showerheads. 

We've been looking at replacing a lot of things in the bathroom of this house. We've been looking into starting with smaller things, sink, shower head and attachment, etc. We are liking the look of the shower options at IKEA, but can't make our minds up. More on this later.

Positive affirmations this week: "What are your core strengths?"

Empathy for others even when they don't have empathy in return. Also, keeping cool under pressure. Definitely a positive to bring to the workforce in the future.

Have a nice weekend.