Talking about mental health on social media
I’ve been having some bad days, and this is why you didn’t hear about them.
I’m writing this post because I put a lamp in the kitchen. It looks terrible and doesn’t fit in, but I needed to be able to turn off all the overhead lights.
I needed the soft glow of nothing but a lamp — I LOVE LAMPS — so I could make some sort of food for my children, and get the kitchen to an acceptable state. Both tasks felt insurmountable without the softness of that lamp-light, and noise-cancelling headphones firmly clamped on my ears.
It’s hard to talk about mental health on social media sometimes, but not for the reason you might think.
It’s not stigma. Thankfully, people are cooler than ever about talking about mental health. It’s not because I don’t want people to know I have depression and anxiety. It’s not because taking anti-depressants is a scary secret — I pop those orange pills every damn morning.
I have no problem talking online about my mental health … except when I’m in the thick of a bad spell.
Kids on YouTube is the latest obsession
Are your kids on YouTube and dreaming of stardom?
I often wonder, when my daughter is watching herself on YouTube and giggling hysterically at her own jokes, if we are raising what’s going to be the vainest generation of all time.
Yes, she’s on YouTube … watching herself. The kids were barely three and five when I set up a simple YouTube channel for them. (It’s called Playtime with Dexter & Rosey, if you have YouTube-obsessed children who might want to watch our family’s silliness).
Our first video was seven-and-a-half minutes of the three of us playing with Playmobil toys. The plot was simple: a little girl named Becca goes to the fair with her mom and they start going on rides.
Let’s just say I know what children find funny, and it’s making little plastic people pretend to retch over the side of a ferris wheel. And somehow there were farm animals going to the bathroom on people, too. It’s quite embarrassing, but clearly it worked, judging by the soundtrack of giggles. Read More
Shadow box your treasures so you can actually appreciate them
How creating a simple shadow box can make you feel happier
I admit to being sentimental when it comes to “stuff,” but it gets complicated because I also hate clutter and our house has limited storage space. It’s a vicious cycle, where I lovingly tuck things into plastic storage crates in a closet, and then get frustrated that our closets are full.
It took me a long time to find the solution: shadow boxes. These deep frames force you to pare down your mementos and only keep the very best ones, and then you get to smile at them every day as they hang on your wall.
The first shadow box I ever made, years ago, was about Jennifer Aniston — yes, Rachel from Friends. Oh, you didn’t think of hanging pictures of her on your wall? Funny.
I’ve been a “Faniston” since I was 12 or 13, and used to collect newspaper and magazine clippings with her pictures and interviews. Pretty soon I had many large boxes stuffed with printed episode scripts, Friends calendars and even old issues of TV Guide.
I finally decided I couldn’t keep it all anymore — and didn’t really want to — but it felt wrong to just toss our years’ worth of collecting. So I went through everything, picked out the best photos, and kept only what fit in a single shadow box (purchased for about $30 at the craft store). Suddenly, I felt OK about getting rid of everything else because my favourite bits were displayed so nicely …
How do you make a beautiful shadow box quickly, without a lot of fuss? Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …
Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …
HEATHER’S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: Gifts for kids
The following holiday gift guide (gifts for kids) contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product from one of these links, I may receive a small commission from the supplier. As always, all opinions and weirdo children are my own.
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I’ve written before about how to find out what your kids want for Christmas, and one of the ways is by figuring out what’s “trending” right now in their little worlds. It’s not to say that they’ll only want something because it’s popular, but it can be a good indication that you’re getting a gift they’ll love.
I’ve done the research — i.e. talked to my children and their friends, and spent 92% of my waking hours on the internet — and here’s what I’ve come up with …
1. A bath toy that isn’t for babies.
You guys have seen our MASSIVE Playmobil collection (and awesome DIY storage/play shelves), so we were pumped when our friends at PLAYMOBIL sent us the Drago Ship from Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon. My favourite part is the cage, and the kids looked at me strangely when I suggested we put people in it. “It’s for a DRAGON, Mom.” Oh.
D had the whole thing snapped together in about four minutes, and begged in the middle of the afternoon to get into the tub to play with it! He spent an hour in there acting out scenes with the characters, and it was the cutest thing to listen to. Although his buddy did think he was LOCO when he came to the door at 3 p.m. and I explained D was in the bath. 😉
HEATHER’S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: Gifts for the home
The following holiday gift guide contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product from one of these links, I may receive a small commission from the supplier. As always, all opinions and bathroom anxieties are my own.
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Today I’m sharing a gift guide for the HOME — full of items that would make a great gift for basically ANY adult. Ready to dive in?
1. A custom address stamper.
You know the person’s address, right? Type it in carefully, choose a fun design, and you can get them a self-inking custom address stamper that will make sending Christmas cards (and birth announcements, invitations, cards, etc.) soooooo much easier. I got mine five years ago from my mom, and it’s one of my all-time favourite (and USEFUL) gifts.
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