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If You Care To Sob Your Eyes Out

(click the image to view the video)

You likely already came across this story today as it's made the rounds but I couldn't help but share it here as well, it touched me so much. The story of Fred and his undying love for his sweet Lorraine. His wife since the 1930's, she passed away just last month, a month before their 76th wedding anniversary. Fred entered a song writing contest in his local community with lyrics he had written for his wife.

Of course I downloaded the song on iTunes and I sobbed watching the video on how the song came to be and how he mentioned his life with her was like a dream. 

I love a beautiful story of enduring love, don't we all!

Natural Spider Repellant

I can hardly write this post because of the heebie jeebiez I'm feeling right about now. I've had a couple spider encounters the last couple of days that have left me feeling really freaked out. 

One was during lunch time just a couple days ago while I was trying to keep my baby girl from crawling into the fireplace, a spider suddenly dropped onto my unsuspecting sandwich which was utterly terrifying. What if I hadn't seen it drop and I took an extra crunchy bite? Eeeek!

Yesterday afternoon I spotted an extra leggy mass in the upper corner of the ceiling and realized it was two large daddy long legs gettin' it on right outside our bedroom. Sick. I climbed to smash them with toilet paper and one jumped down onto my arm and then fell on the floor and got away. I sense it lurking. 

And of course this was years ago, but I'm still scarred by the occurrence. I recall hanging out in my bedroom writing moody poetry and listening to Sarah McLachlan as a teenager when I noticed an extra "poky" looking spider hunched in the corner of my window sill. As I ran to grab the vacuum and suck it up, what seemed like HUNDREDS of baby spiders jumped off the mama spider's back and began overtaking my bedroom. Screams. Screams. 

Sooooo, now that I have sufficiently creeped myself out all over again, I wanted to share some natural spider repellent remedies that I have found in my quest to sleep more peacefully at night. I bought some of these products last night to try out ASAP and I'll have to follow up and let you know how things go. 

Apparently spiders have taste buds on their legs, which makes these repellents especially successful should they come tip toeing too close to areas where they are uninvited. 

Aromas/tastes that spiders are said to detest include:

Lemon

Peppermint

Cinnamon

Tea Tree

Citrus Scents

Incidentally, these are often smells that most of us rather enjoy. Pick your poison (although, point being it isn't poison at all and is safe to use around kids and animals alike), squirt 7 drops of either peppermint oil, tea tree oil or lemon and add a few drops of mild dishwashing soap to about a quart of water. Pour into a spray bottle and spray around doorways and windows or wherever you see spider webs indoors. Re-squirt the areas every other day for at least a couple of weeks. You should see a significant drop in spider sightings indoors.

You can also set out lavender plants or pots of mint throughout your kitchen or living area to discourage spiders from moving in. 

Try these methods out with me and hopefully we can keep spiders outside!

Start Making Extra Holiday Cash NOW

It always sucks when the the holidays are suddenly here and you realize you don't have quite the extra cash you planned on to give gifts you wanted to give and enjoy the holiday adventures you envisioned. This happens to me nearly every year and this year I've decided to start making extra cash and putting it away months in advance.

Let's look at some ways to start making some extra holiday money starting NOW so that you can save enough by the time the season gets here!

Ebates
This site is great! First of all, you get a $10 gift card to Target, Home Depot, Macy's, Walmart (there are others) just for signing up. They mail it to you plain and simple. Then anytime you have to buy something online, say other presents or just regular necessities, if you go through their site first, you start racking up cash back points. They'll start mailing out checks to you based on what you've bought online recently. Of course it might seem counter productive spending money to get a little back, but if you're going to be buying diapers on Amazon anyway or groceries or other things online anyway, you might as well make something back! I've been getting little $15, $25 checks from them every couple weeks for many months now and they'll add up. Just be sure that you cash them before 90 days as I learned the hard way!

Check the "ETC" Pages
On Craigslist, if you look at the second to last option under the "jobs" column on craigslist, you'll find the "ETC" section. This area can be hit or miss but if you check it out regularly you'll come across extra ways to make money including pet sitting, yard work gigs, elderly assistance driving to and from doctor appointments, helping with small business packaging, and so on. A couple years ago I wanted to make extra cash behind my husband's back so that I could surprise him. I raked an elderly woman's leaves that I found on the "ETC" section, helped in writing names on homemade ornaments for a small business.

Clothing For Cash
I know in Utah there's a place called "Plato's Closet" and here in Seattle there's a "Rewind Clothing". Lots of big cities have places that will buy your gently used, stylish clothes for cash. Instead of just trashing them or letting them sit in your closet unused, might as well make a few bucks while getting rid of them.

Sell on Etsy
You're talented I just know it! If you aren't already selling on Etsy, why not give it a whirl? Sell some homemade baby bows or headbands, a holiday banner or table runner, wedding decor, hand sewn napkins, place settings for Thanksgiving, photography prints, throw pillow cases, jewelry, whatever you want! I've been selling paintings on Etsy for over a year now, and although it's nothing steady, when I suddenly sell one, that's some unexpected cash in my pocket! Of course you might want to try to sell things you have already created or using supplies you already have instead of going out and spending a bunch first.

Consignment FB Page For Your Area
There is an online Facebook page set up for the people in one general city where any of them can post things they are no longer in need of and sell them to each other. If you have baby clothes to sell, a kitchen appliance you never use, clothes, books, furniture, what have you, if you have many others join your group you're likely to find some buyers for things you no longer use to your neighbors looking for those items. Try your hand at setting up a similar page with friends and inviting everyone in your area to join.

Take on some online writing projects
Sites such as www.elance.com or www.crowdspring.com/ provide thousands of online gigs for people interested in making some extra money. You can find all kinds of creative projects, writing jobs, photoshop, editing, programming, data entry needs and so on so check it out!

Focus Groups
I've been surprised just how many opportunities there are for focus groups in my area. Many of them are clinical groups but lots of them center around products and services such as focus groups for Android users or moms of toddlers just to name a few. Sites such as http://www.fgglobal.com/
or http://www.focusgroup.com/ make it easy for you to browse the opportunities coming up in your area that you might be interested in. Since many of the studies take place over the course of many weeks, you might as well look for one that starts soon where you go in once a week for an hour or so, make $50 or whatever they pay for the hour, and then set the money aside each week up until the holidays arrive!

Make The Most Of Furniture Finds
This might seem odd, but I've actually made a nice chunk of change more than once on scoring a good furniture find and then turning around and selling it for more. Browse your local Goodwill or look on Craigslist for furniture pieces in either the furniture section or, better yet, in the FREE section. Look for pieces with interesting textures that you can't find everywhere (vintage pieces are always great) and give them a lift yourself. Add some paint or fun knobs or fabric and post the piece for sale. Some of my own personal furniture in my own home were pieces that I found for free and polished up myself and I've sold a couple of dressers and tables for cash after getting them for free.

If you have any suggestions on other ways to make some extra cash ahead of time, please share them in the comments below!

Cute Fall Boots Under $50

Ok I can't not buy boots just because I already have boots, right? Cute boots make up some of the priciest shoe options out there and even though I feel an urge to buy new boots each Fall doesn't mean I can always justify spending hundreds each time the season rolls around. I hunted down a handful of boots under fifty bucks to satisfy the urge without spending too much cash. I personally own #6 and they are unbelievably comfortable and look great in person.

1. Target Western Boots- $39.99

2. Lulu's Taupe Riding Boots- $47.00

3. Aldo's Rubber Rain Boots- $24.98

4. Forever 21 Western Booties- $39.80

5. GoJane Buckled Strappy Boots- $34.95

6. Forever 21 Fringe Western Booties- $36.80

2nd Anniversary

Yesterday marked my 2nd year anniversary with my sweet husband and the most luxurious part of it all was having a babysitter! Ooo, I loved that part. We reside just outside of Seattle but don't actually make it into the city all that often, so we took a ferry from the mainland and enjoyed dinner on Bainbridge island. It was such a magical view with the sun setting and the city all lit up.

It felt like a long road to finding my husband and although there was some stress in feeling like I'd never find the right one or going through multiple periods of swearing off guys forever, but I'm glad I hung on just a little longer to find him!

(Of course aspens were present in my wedding photos, ha)

Makin' the most of Seattle's perfect summer! If you ever plan on visiting, summer is the time to do so. We've enjoyed weeks of sunny, 70-something weather and it'll be sad to see it go!

How To Support Someone Suffering From Postpartum Depression

Having a baby for the first time is so daunting! At least it was for me. On the one hand I had all these people sharing their labor and delivery horror stories with me which was frustrating and terrifying and others offering all kinds of advice on being a mother and raising a child. And of course most family and friends would tell me about how wonderful being a mother is and how it's the best feeling in the world and how happy I'll be. After all, there's a reason a baby is often referred to as a "bundle of joy", right? 

So what do you do when you come home from the hospital with your new bundle and things don't feel all euphoric and full of joy like you thought they would? What's your problem, why aren't you happy? I dealt with feelings of terrible depression shortly after giving birth to my baby, and it wasn't something that anyone informed me about ahead of time, so I had no idea what my problem was. Turns out my "problem" was postpartum depression and it was bad. Here was this BEAUTIFUL, sweet little babe that was all mine and I felt scared, helpless, incapable, alone and incredibly depressed. I didn't WANT to feel that way, I wanted to rejoice and be a happy mother and spend the time reveling in the arrival of my little girl instead of clinging to anyone who was near asking them, "Will things ever be ok again?" This was more than feeling sleep deprived and a little overwhelmed, though the lack of sleep and the adjustment to a new person certainly added to the mix. It was a heavy darkness of fear and feeling so low.

I've struggled with depression most of my adult life so I sometimes worried about this "postpartum depression" that I'd heard mentioned a couple times here and there, but I was unprepared for it's arrival. Thankfully I pulled through with the help of medicine and good support and I am happier than ever to be a mom, I feel capable once again and life is good, but it was a scary time and I needed lots of love. 

If you are worried that you might be struggling with PPD or if your wife or sister or someone you love is having a hard time, as someone who has been through it I'd like to say PLEASE be so patient with yourself or them and do all you can to be supportive. It doesn't mean you aren't a good mom or that you're inadequate. It can be ok again, and not just that but wonderful. 

Here are some tips I'd like to share on supporting someone suffering:

Recognize the symptoms

Every mom goes through some emotions when giving birth and your hormones are doing some crazy things to you. There are the "baby blues" which occur usually during the first couple of days while your hormones adjust to the changes but PPD is heavier and can continue for weeks or months. Some symptoms include insomnia, hopelessness, anxiety, changes in appetite, extreme feelings of guilt and so on. 

Listen, listen, listen

I needed someone to hear me out and listen to my feelings whether it was at 2 am or over and over again in the middle of the afternoon. A new mom suffering from PPD needs to reach out and have someone nearby to comfort them and just listen while they sort things through. 

Don't doubt the seriousness

You may be tempted to just give the suffering person a pat on the head and tell them it'll all work out, but this can be a very serious issue with sad consequences so if the new mom is telling you she's really not ok and feels like she can't do this, take it to heart and take them seriously. 

Don't leave them alone

My husband works long hours and travels a lot and I remember freaking out when he returned to work and I now had to take care of this little person all by myself day in and day out and all evening and night by myself and I didn't know how or where to go and it felt like my world had been turned upside down forever. Do whatever you can to enlist the help of friends and family to take shifts to be there for the new mom, ESPECIALLY if you think she is suffering from PPD. 

Help Them Find Support

I just can't stress this enough. Thankfully I'm personally very assertive when it comes from seeking help and this is something that I learned to do with my previous experiences with depression, but many women might feel awkward and uncertain about seeking professional help. I was a little bit surprised considering how terrible I felt that I wasn't warned before leaving the hospital that PPD is an issue for many women and given numbers for outreach. I had to HUNT them down and look online for support groups and call my doctor and tell her, "hey, this is serious. I need to come see you ASAP." If you have to be aggressive about it, do it! Help the new mom find support groups (there are often groups that meet in your area with other moms and nurses, so call your hospital and ask about them!), get her in to her doctor to see if she needs an antidepressant prescription, talk to nurses, do what you need to do!

Be Patient & Kind

Your wife or girlfriend or sister may be acting really dramatic in your opinion and you may be tempted to tell them to just be happy about this new baby and ask them, "How can you not be happy right now?!" That makes a mom suffering from PPD feel so guilty. Try to understand that it's a hormonal issue and you'll likely have to be so kind and patient with mood swings and lots of tears and talking through self doubt and fears with them. 

Hold Them & Help Them

Let the person with PPD hug you again and again if they need to. Hold them, wake up with them if they need to get up and help with the baby. Cook for them, clean for them, change diapers and let her have a nap. Do what you can to lessen the burden. 

Follow Up

I mean this in every sense of the word. If you have a friend who just had a baby and she mentioned that she's finding it to be really hard, follow up with her! Go over there and take the baby off her hands. Text or call and make sure she's ok. Also, keep following up with progress and whether or not support groups or medications are helping. Don't just figure things will sort themselves out. 

Here are some helpful links that I came across while I was suffering:

http://www.webmd.com/depression/postpartum-depression/postpartum-depression-symptoms

http://www.postpartum.net/

http://www.ppmdsupport.com/

In the depth of postpartum I felt like, "Why did I do this. Why did I have a baby, I can't do this. My life is over." It's not an easy thing to admit to people but it doesn't mean you're a terrible person. It's a major adjustment. You can see this through and find great joy in motherhood and your sweet child!