Life at a "Swell's" pace

Five Simple Things (May 9)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This asparagus.

The first year we had success with growing it. Hopefully, we will get to harvest another batch again soon.

2. This bird.

These Black Birds are always so curious.

3. This bar.

I'm still a bit skeptical of the Wonder Bar, but I will keep using it and see if it works, or it's hype.

4. These moments.

I have been adding a lot of Skylar pictures from dropping him off at class each week. These are the moments that mean a lot to me, though. Sending a child through college in this economy is the hardest thing, but we are doing everything we can to make it happen for him. I am so proud of him every day.

5. This purse.

I bought this purse this week and Skylar helped me take some pictures of it to show my mom. It's a spacious handbag, and I love how I can carry other larger items in it, too. It's definitely going to be my spring bag I carry into summer this year.

One last thing:

We did our weekly family outing again and this week we played indoor mini golf and laser tag at Putters Entertainment Center in Eugene. Skylar picked the place and it was a blast. We loved the laser tag a lot. This is definitely a place we will be visiting again soon.

Positive affirmations this week:

An inflated ego destroys your life in more ways than people realize. It blinds you to your own self-worth and constantly puts you on a hamster wheel of looking for validation. It puts you in a constant need to protect your own image, but in a pattern of self-sabotage. It also forces you to pick up unhealthy patterns of always needing to be right. This need causes you to damage relationships with people, even family members, because your ego won't let you back down. You always have to be right, always win; you blame others, you compare, and constantly measure your worth against others. In this loop, you are easily jealous of others when they succeed. In this same loop, you also say sabotaging things to those to whom good things happen. A non-ego-driven person would celebrate the success that others have and not try to destroy it, no matter how small the win is for them. The sad thing about an inflated ego is that the people who have this can't even read this without feeling attacked or judged. It's the ego loop that they keep themselves in and don't take a step back to think, "What can I do to improve?" I know many people like this. It's a constant moment of wondering what is wrong with them. I have ended relationships, even with family members, in order to save myself from their ego. With an inflated ego, they will tell a different story, however. Overall, their ego is ruining their life one interaction at a time. If this describes you, there is a way out. Retrain your brain to see a situation differently and even reach out to someone you feel you didn't see correctly. Reaching out is hard, but it's the best way to help change your mentality from having your ego lead and control your life. When you reach out, don't let the fear of failure take over and tell you that you can't learn from your mistakes.

You can do this!🌈

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (May 2)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This toy.

As Hardy gets older we try our best to keep his mind engaged with mental toys. He is such a smart dog. It took him less than two seconds to figure out how to get these treats out. His mind is sharp, even at almost 19 years old. This toy is for puppies, but works for senior dogs, too. You can get the same one here.

2. This box.

Birchbox came this week and my favorite product is the Busy Co. Brightening Face Wipes. I have incredibly sensitive skin that has gotten even more sensitive as I've gotten old, but these didn't break me out, irritate my skin, and didn't make my redness worse. I also love the Juara Candlenut Body Cream. It smells amazing and I've been using it before bed. My skin feels amazing in the morning.

3. This kid.

The many looks of Skylar's school fashion.♥

4. This rabbit.

This chocolate bunny "puzzle" was part of Skylar's Easter basket this year. It came from IKEA and it was too cute to pass up. We don't normally buy packaged foods at IKEA, but this chocolate was Rainforest Alliance certified. Rainforest Alliance certified chocolate comes from cocoa farms that have strict sustainability. They protect forests, pay farmers a living wage, and promote human and animal rights.

5. These peonies.

We purchased this peonies this week to place in between the roses we planted on the crazy fence our next door neighbor built. We are hoping they will blossom out and cover the space between each rose bush. We mainly planted the roses and now these peonies to block the view of our neighbor's house and yard. If it was up to me, I would build a rock or brick wall around the property and put in a gate to the backyard and even the front yard. Similar to the ones you see in larger cities that block people from being able to come onto your property without pushing a button and stating their business. But alas, this will work for now.

One last thing:

Kiwi Eco Box is always a joy to receive each month. I love that this month was cotton twine. I've been needing to get some more cheesecloth, as well, so this month's box was perfect!

Positive affirmations this week:

This social media post really hit me this week. It's a shame that adults violently take their anger out on children, but as adults, we moderate our behavior. Accidents happen, and hitting or yelling at children causes them lifelong issues, making them feel they will get into trouble, even for accidents. Most adults who grew up with this same abuse end up becoming the adults who do the abusing if they don't understand that what they are doing is wrong. Children deserve understanding and an opportunity to learn that accidents don't result in punishment. Many members of the older generation could have stopped the dysfunction in their parenting; many might have, but a lot of them didn't. They were raised with someone's hand always hitting them. There are a lot of undiagnosed mental health issues in the older generation that carried over to their kids. Those mental health issues were then carried over to the next generation's children. We can stop this cycle of abuse by just saying no to punishing kids for mistakes or accidents. You can end the cycle of dysfunction and abuse; it just has to stop with you.

You can do this!🌈