Life at a "Swell's" pace

Hello. Happy Earth Day! Find Earth Day tips here and here.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Easter.

We had a pretty nice Easter and spent the day at home just enjoying the day. Even though Skylar is older now, we still enjoy seeing his face when he comes down the stairs and sees his Easter basket. I was also surprised by the bouquet of flowers and the little moth bag I had wanted. It was a good day!

2. This Weather.

We randomly had sleet fall this week on two separate days. The sun was out shortly before one downfall and it caught us off guard completely. The poor ducks didn't know what to do with it and it was fun to watch them explore the yard through all of the sleet on the ground. The pellets didn't last long, though and once it warmed up again it melted off pretty quickly. We are so ready for summer.

3. These Boxes.

Might Nest this week was something I've never seen before. The first picture is of the Might Fix and it was a set of three bamboo tongs. We love practical and functional items and these are definitely something we will use frequently. You can sign up for Might Nest here.

The second picture is of the new products from Dae, an Amber Fillerup-owned company. I love her hair line and even more the hair oils and deep conditioners. The set pictured is available here and it includes shampoo and conditioner set, a comb, monsoon deep conditioner, and positive mantra cards. The Prickly Pear Hair Oil is available here and it's amazing! I love using it after we've surfed and the smell is great!

4. This Moment

The backup camera in my car is a lot of fun sometimes. It's kind of spoiling me when I backup, but seeing someone I know appear in the camera is really cool.

5. This Moth

I've taken a liking to moths lately, so I was thrilled to see this Plume Moth on our front door this week. It didn't seem to be scared of me, but I respected it and didn't touch it. I love how it can fold its wings so close that it forms a T when it lands.

Positive affirmations this week:

GET OUTSIDE:

There's so many benefits from getting outside and spending time in nature. On a personal level getting outside has helped me a great deal in my mental health and mental illness battles. If I could stay barefooted all year long with my feet in green grass, my body in water, sun on my face, and my hands in dirt, I would be happier. Unfortunately, we can't be constantly outside, but when the seasons change, make it a plan to spend at least two hours a day doing something in nature. Here are some statistics to get you motivated to spend more time outside:

Time in nature decreases anxiety and negative thinking, and lowers levels of depression and stress.
Outdoor activity improves both mental and physical well-being more than indoor activity.
Time in nature helps to decrease high blood pressure.
Diabetics who spend more time in nature are more physically active and shore better blood sugar control.
Time in nature is associated with better cognitive development in schoolchildren.
The closer you are to green space, the less you suffer from cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, mental health, respiratory, neurological, and digestive diseases. (Source: Park Rx America)

Have a nice weekend.

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This Syrup.

We are kind of secret syrup lovers in our house. Any syrup in a cool bottle, or is different and out of the norm we have to buy it and try it. This Bourbon-Barrel-Aged maple syrup was interesting. Good, but interesting. You can pick a jar up here.

2. This Kitty.

Always by my side.

3. This Tulip.

I found this interesting. A water source along the street and a blooming tulip beside it. Wonder if the tulip actually gets any water from that source?

4. This Goodbye.

Said goodbye to Happy duck this week. We took her to get cremated along with Rosie and Ro-Ro. We had previously buried Rosie and Ro-Ro and decided to get them all cremated at the same time, so we can take them with us when we move. It was a very sad day and rest of the week for us. Skylar wore a small black feather from Happy Duck on his nametag at work all day. He was having a hard time with it, but as we went into the weekend we talked about her and the other two a lot. It helped us process it better. We miss them so much and we especially miss Happy Duck's presence in the yard. Ducks make great pets and they can even be trained. The only downfall is, they don't live long enough. But, can't that be said for every one and everything that is alive; just not long enough.

5. This Floor.

We recently had a major issue in our bathroom and the entire floor next to the bathtub completely fell through. We knew the flooring was getting bad, but we had no idea it was this bad. We could see straight through the hole to the ground under the house. It was a bad situation, but a construction company in town came out the same day and had it all repaired in under six hours. We ended up getting the entire floor relayed and I am loving the transformation. The company replaced the baseboards, too and all we have set next to do is paint and do a bit of work around the bathtub. Overall, we are completely thrilled with it and our next task is to paint the room and bring it all together. You can see below how bad the floor was and the process of repairing it all.