A Night in Portland
It's been a long year and even longer month I feel like just waiting for 2020 to end. After Christmas we took a drive up to Portland to have dinner for the evening and spent some time driving around different areas in the city. It was strange to see the populated areas with hardly any people, but it was nice to see the city less busy. It was honestly a perfect setting for some podcast pictures and other spooky photos. But, I will say, Portland looks better without so many people around and less traffic.
Five Simple Things (December 25)
Hello.
Merry Christmas. I'm posting this between "cooking." I don't really cook, but I mostly heat things up and use a lot of frozen things. It all tastes the same, though, and we get a lot of our things from our local co-op. The Dreidel to the left was from the local co-op. We aren't Jewish, but the chocolate is from Lake Champlain Chocolates and their chocolate is one of our favorites, so we couldn't pass it up. The co-op marked it down for the holidays and we snagged it and a few other chocolate items that were marked down. This Dreidel is a top and spins just like a real one. We played with it for a bit and then hit it with a spoon and shared the chocolate. On another aspect, I feel like I haven't been sleeping well lately and my anxiety has been troublesome, but I think it has a lot to do with everything from the year coming to a close. The only thing that helps keep me focused is knowing that in 2021 things will start to get better. It's hard to process everything that's happened this past year, but we must either process it, or let it drag us under. I am looking forward to the good things that are to come. I have a long needed haircut scheduled for tomorrow and I am looking forward to that, too. Skylar was excited to see what his gift was this year. Although he couldn't get the actual item, it is on backorder and he knows it's his. We got him a new surfboard, so he was excited about that. We also bought us all our own wetsuits, too. It's been a long time coming to get our own, so I am thrilled about that. It's the little positive things that really help process the negative. I can't wait to get back out on the water with our own suits and boards. Our boards will come later, but for now, we are eager. Here are five things this week.
1. This Kid.
We spend the early morning this morning watching Skylar open all of his gifts. Unfortunately, his big gift is on back order until March 2021 and we were disappointed that we couldn't surprise him with it on Christmas morning, but we still enjoyed the morning. We got him a Red Rider BB Gun and some targets. It was mainly bought as a joke, but Skylar loved it. We showed him his big gift and he was super excited. We can't wait until it comes and he actually gets to try it out.
2. This Tree.
With the pandemic still strong here in Oregon we passed on getting a cut tree. It actually worked out well for us because our fake tree is up all year in our TV room, so we just moved it to the front window. It's been such an odd year that one less thing to stress about was more than welcome in our house.
3. These Subscriptions.
This was the winter Fab Fit Fun subscription box. I love that they added ILIA mascara and a face brush. I ended up regifting a few items to friends and relatives, but overall the mascara and face brush will definitely be added to my daily use. The Paradox blemish stars went to Skylar and he likes to use them at night. Overall it was a nice box this season. You can sign up here to get on the spring box mailing list. Also, the Kiwi Eco Box came for December. Love this box so far and it's a great replacement to the Yogi Surprise box that ended last year. If you want to get in on this box, which you should, you can do it here. You won't regret it!
4. This Test.
Definitely pegged me correctly. Although, I do have a bit of OCD about list-making. I make a list for just about everything, it seems. But, the shower and the early waking up does resonate with me as I've gotten older. Another enneagram personality test that's free to take is the Personality Path. Even if you don't believe some of these tests, it's interesting to find out where you fall on the scale. This test is a bit more thorough and up to date. There is no email required to take it and it's been tested with several hundred people to reach high accuracy of 90%. You can take their free test here. (Thanks, Greg, for the recommendation.)
5. These Edibles.
Positive affirmations this week:
I want to share a quote I love.
"We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth." -Virginia Satir
So, hug often and hug those you love daily. Everyone needs a hug and everyone could use a hug, especially children as they're growing.
Have a nice weekend.
Five Simple Things (December 18)
Hello.
We have been going through our two Christmas boxes this week and getting rid of a lot of it. I haven't been into the holidays for the past three or four years now. I honestly am just blah about holiday time and the decorations over the years have just been sitting in a box in the attic. So, this week we decided to remedy that and only keep things that have earned a place in our house. Some older decorations, like bubble lights I've had since my first Christmas tree in my first place didn't make the cut. They are cool, but I haven't put them on our tree in several years, so I decided to just let them go. Other decorations that I didn't buy myself, and weren't my style ended up in the donation box, as well. We ended up getting a fake tree this year because I just haven't had the energy to do much since my surgery. It's slowly coming back, but isn't 100% yet. Other than minimizing holiday décor, we've been having a mellow week. We were hoping for a bit of snow, but nothing has been seen so far. Oh, well...maybe sometime after the new year we will see some flurries. My anxiety issues have been intense lately and I've done everything I can think of to calm myself down. The breathing techniques I've learned have helped a bit, but I'm hoping once the new year comes and we put some time between 2020 it will help. Here are five things this week.
1. This Award.
Of all the years he gave up his own time to the community, he was finally recognized for his dedication. We are so proud of him!
2. This Calendar.
This was the first year that we've tried a countdown calendar for Skylar. We filled the little bags with gift cards, candy, school supplies, and a few random notes from Jeff and me. Skylar loved it and even though he is older, it's still something we will continue into the future.
3. This Kitty.
4. This Peeler.
Our vegetable peeler broke this week. It was a peeler we've had for at least 10 years, so it was a bummer that it broke. The head of the peeler was getting a bit rusty and overtime I guess the stress of that snapped it. But, I found this one from Honsen and we just love it. And, it's perfect timing for Christmas coming up and the simple dinners we do. You can get the same one here.
5. These Edibles.
Still looking into ways to control panic issues. The dispensary recommended these and they are okay. They taste good, but overall they don't quite take the edge off like I'm looking for.
The new way to see Santa this year.
Positive affirmations this week:
Have a nice weekend.
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