I’ve mentioned it before, but I have an awesome yeti hat. Hats don’t get any awesomer than that {and if you tell me ‘awesomer’ isn’t a word my yeti hat will eat you}. But did you know I’m not the only person to wear a yeti hat? Lot’s of kick-ass people have worn yeti hats.

And I bet someday I’ll be as famous and as beloved as them. Just sayin’.

I hope to have more pictures to post after the festivities are over…but I couldn’t resist sharing a shot of the costume I made for Lucy {Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds}.

Here’s how I made the costume:

1. I found a plain blue onesie {which was actually a lot harder than I expected}.
2. I bought white felt, and fake diamonds at the craft store.
3. I cut the felt into cloud shapes and hand stitched them to the onesie.
4. I used hot glue to attach the diamonds.
5. I made the tutu using elastic and tulle I already had on hand.
6. I threw on white tights and a pair of white shoes I found at the store for one dollar {yay!}.
7. I let Lucy do the rest by being adorable. ;)

Mr. Dork and I are also going as Beatles’ songs {ETA: Here are the pictures of our Beatles costumes}. But our costumes aren’t nearly as awesome. Hope you have a happy Halloween! Stay safe!

The blog will be undergoing some cosmetic changes in the coming days {weeks?} so if things seem skillywampus that’s why. :)

Wondering where I’ve been?

Disconnected.

I needed a break from the internet. So I went totally screen free for over a day. It was embarrassingly difficult to stay off the computer. Other than Lucy and Adam the internet is the only source of human interaction I usually get from day to day. It was also hard to resist watching Glee with Adam once he got home. But we did it. And here’s the awesome thing…I got more done around the house in that one day than I usually get done in a week. And we had a chance to play cards, relax, and just talk with each other. I plan on doing it more often. In fact, screen-free days are part of my 101 in 1001 to-do list. I highly recommend periodic screen-free days for everyone. It’s incredibly rejuvenating.

Also, I got Lucy’s Halloween costume finished and it’s adorable. I promise, pictures are in the works!

Don’t miss this guest post I wrote for Pam at Eight Days A Week! anybody who names their blog after a Beatles song is awesome in my book!

I also wrote a guest post for Jake at Godless Blogger, but it’s not up yet {probably tomorrow}. It’s probably not a blog all my readers will like, just a head’s up.

It took me almost all day to write the guest posts. I think doing NaNoWriMo is going to be a lot harder this year. Last year Lucy was still trapped inside the womb. This year she’s not quite as easy to take care of, though she’s not a difficult baby by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyway, just wanted to share! Take care!

Good News?

• Adam is doing really well in his classes.
• Lucy has another tooth and it’s soooooo cute.
• I was able to help somebody out today just by taking pictures.
• I’ve got a great giveaway going on.
• I’m almost done with my Christmas shopping.
• Adam’s little brother confirmed that he WILL be visiting us for Christmas! Yay!
• We had beautiful weather today.

Bad News?

• I forgot to call my grandfather yesterday…on his birthday.
• I wasted about half my weekend doing something frustrating and pointless.
• I really, really miss my best friend.
• There aren’t a lot of entries in the giveaway, and a lot of people have entered incorrectly.

Want to participate in "Good News Bad News?" It's easy! Just write your own "Good News Bad News" post. Link back here in the post. You can even grab the button below! Leave you link in the McLinky widget and a comment. That's it!

ETA 2: Nic has responded. You can read her apology her.

ETA: Someone privately shared this link with me. It's the video the TSA released of the event. At this time I'm not sure what I'd like to say about it. I'm feeling disappointed and a little betrayed for sure. But I'm waiting to give Nic time to reply to this before I say anything more. Comments on this post are closed for now.

Today I read this post on the blog My Bottles Up. It’s upsetting to read, and will probably make your blood boil, but please go read it. Go read it now then come back here. I don’t mind waiting. And please, if you’re in the habit of commenting on blog posts, leave some support for Nic. She was treated horribly by the TSA agents, who violated their own policies.

The TSA website says:

It’s a great policy. Having just travelled with Lucy this past August I can tell you it’s stressful enough travelling with a baby or child without the fear of them being taken out of your sight. But a policy is only worthwhile when it’s followed. These TSA Agents ignored their own policy, ignored common sense, and ignored the desperate pleas of a mother and her son leading to her panic attack.

I can’t be sure how I would have reacted in that situation. I would have probably bawled, and probably missed my flight because I would have been too busy angrily yelling at talking to a supervisor. I don’t care if its for 10 minutes or 10 hours. Nobody has the right to take a child from their parent without permission like that. I hope word of this spreads. I hope those agents get a serious dressing down and retrained. And the TSA better apologize profusely to Nic.

This contest is now closed. Congrats to Lisa and Andrea!

ETA: "Open to Canadians only" means open to Canadian residents only. Also, all comments need to be left HERE on this post.

I live in the sunniest city in Canada. So during the summer I chose to use sunshine as our family’s source of Vitamin D. But now the seasons are changing. We seem to have skipped autumn altogether and jumped straight to winter {and we were forced to eat Robin’s minstrels*}. So I felt uncomfortable leaving Lucy without a supplement.

I purchased some Vit D drops at the store. But she hated them. She fought us the whole time we tried to deposit the dropper contents in her mouth. And I hated that they had a bunch of extra junk in them {like artificial flavoring}.

Then I saw Baby Ddrops on Twitter. I knew right away I wanted to do a review. Why?

Baby Ddrops are a daily, single drop dose with no flavors, preservatives, or colors.

They sent me a bottle (one tiny bottle contains 90 doses) to try. I’ve been using it for a while now and I’m very pleased. No more fighting Lucy to get her to swallow as much of her dose as possible. I just put a drop on my boob right before a feed. She has no clue she’s even getting anything.

Did I say “very pleased?” I meant very, very, very pleased. Really. I don’t know what else to say. These drops are super easy to give Lucy. And they don’t have questionable crap in them. You really can’t improve on that…well, unless they were free. And guess what, for two of my Canadian readers they will be!

That’s right folks! Baby Ddrops is going to give two lucky readers their own bottle of Baby Ddrops!

How can you win?

1st entry (mandatory for any others to count}: Visit the Baby Ddrops Facebook page and leave a comment HERE with something you learned about Baby Ddrops or Vitamin D. You must leave a way to contact you on all entries {either leave your e-mail or make sure you can be e-mailed through your blog}. If you leave no way to notify you, or if you do not respond to notification within 72 hours a new winner will be chosen.

2nd entry: Become a fan of Baby Ddrops on Facebook and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

3rd entry: Follow @BabyDdrops on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

4th entry: Follow @DomesticDork on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

5th entry: Blog about the giveaway and leave a link to the post in a comment on this post.

6th entry: Follow me here on Domestic Dork and leave a comment saying that you did.

7th entry: Tweet about the giveaway and link to the tweet in a comment {you must leave a link to the specific tweet not your Twitter account!}. You may tweet once daily.

How will the winner be chosen?

Winner will be chosen via Random.org then notified and announced here on the blog.

When will the winner be chosen?

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Contest open to Canadian residents only.

Good luck!

*And there was much rejoicing! Yaaaaay!

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned my love for the boys from Liverpool on this blog. Let’s just say that while my daughter might not be named after one of their songs on purpose, I certainly love the connection.* And when I tell you that the whole family will be dressing as Beatle’s songs for Halloween {pictures to come}, and that I did a Beatles piece in my studio art class, and that I’ll be doing much more Beatles art {as soon as Mini-Dork gives me a chance to paint}, and that one of my prized possessions is the White Album {on vinyl ya’ll!}, and that I sang a Beatles song while I was in labor then it should come as no surprise that I was completely freaking out over the release of The Beatles Rock Band! I don’t know if Adam could have convinced me to get a Wii, as cool as they are, were it not for that game. We pre-ordered our copy. And then I waited. It’s a miracle I didn’t die in pure, musical ecstasy once it arrived. Had I died all I would have asked is that Blackbird be played at my funeral, and maybe Let It Be, and Across the Universe, and…hell, just play the entire discography, OK?

But this post isn’t about how much I love The Beatles. It’s about how much I love the opening cinematic for the game. How many times have I watched it? Um…a few? {And by “a few” I mean “too many times to be considered healthy.} The art director responsible for this cinematic has my undying love and devotion. Pure. simple. genius.

And the game itself is not bad either. ;)

*Actually, both the girl names {Eleanor and Lucy} we had picked out in pregnancy just happened to be from the title of Beatle’s songs, and our boy pick was Harrison. Pure coincidence. Pure, AWESOME coincidence.

The Good News?

• Lucy looks adorable in her winter hat.
• We get a three day weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving! {Happy Thanksgiving!!!}
• Pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin donuts are at Starbucks and Tim Horton’s. YUM!
• I’ve got a giveaway lined up for a product I’m really loving lately.
• I’m starting to catch up on my graphic design projects.

The Bad News?

• I forgot to do Good News Bad News last week! D’oh! Who forgets to do their own meme?
• It’s been cold and snowy.
• It’s National Coming Out Day but my GLBT friends still don’t have equal rights nor can they serve openly in the military.

Hi! Mama has been really busy lately. So I’m doing today’s post for her.

Last week I got my first black eye! Those floors can be slippery! But I’m going to learn to walk eventually!

This week it’s been snowing. Snow is this cold, white fluff that falls from the sky. It’s snowing again today.

But snow in early October! That’s CrAzY!

Yesterday I helped clean the windows. Mama doesn’t do it nearly often enough so I thought I’d take care of it myself.

That’s what I’ve been up to lately. Well, that and the usual cat chasing, paper eating, and babbling. How about you?

I’ve come to some decisions regarding my life and some things I’ve been thinking about. And here’s what I’ve decided:

I need to simplify my life. It’s time to:

1. Identify what’s most important to [me].
2. Eliminate everything else. {from Zen Habits}

And I’m starting by dropping out of Body After Baby. Samantha put together a really great program for support and accountability (and prizes too!) but right now I want to focus on

1. Time with my family.
2. My writing.
3. Time for art {and crafts}.
4. My blogs.

That means I’m also closing Coffee {for now}. Anyone who is currently a client, or has already contacted me about a project needn’t worry. They’ll still be taken care of. But at least until NaNoWriMo is over I won’t be taking any new clients. I may still post pre-made graphics as well as freebies. And I’ve got some neat ideas for some Christmas products that I’ll get to if I have time.

I love blogging far too much to shut down my sites. But you may notice that posting seems slightly more sporadic. I still aim to post every day {or close to every day}. But I’ve been wanting to post more often on my other blog and find that it’s difficult to post daily here and still have time to write high quality content there. So on days I post there I may or may not post here. If you need your “Holly fix” and I haven’t posted on Domestic Dork then check out my other site {but, as way of warning, the other site is much snarkier}.

I’m feeling really good about these decisions. I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’m really looking forward to NaNoWriMo, especially now that I know I won’t have Body After Baby and Coffee pulling my attention away from my writing. Thank you for your advice and support. I love you guys. Really, I do. I would write for my blogs even if I had zero readers because, well…I love to hear {or read} myself talk. But you make it a million times more fun, and you make it more challenging because I’m determined to give you worthwhile content. So, again, thank you.

I’ve been feeling like my brain is broken lately. I’m swamped with Coffee clients (and even had to turn a potential client down). I’ve been trying to get some things around the house taken care of. I’ve had a lot of errands to run. I’ve been trying to get some holiday projects and shopping done early. I’ve also got Mama Note’s Body After Baby challenge going on. And I’ve been combating my ADD and the blues for a little while which definitely makes even the little things much more difficult.

I did so-so on the Body After Baby mini-challenge to drink water. I definitely started strong. But I haven’t done a single minute of exercise thus far. I’ve been stretched so thin lately between my blogs and my graphic design projects that fitness has been left by the wayside. I’m not sure how much that bothers me. Something’s got to give and maybe this should be that something. However I don’t want to be completely inactive. I want to at least be training for my running goals.

I’ve got a lot of clients right now, which is great but stressful. I have a pro-bono client that I really want to work on to return a big favor she did for me last year. But my paying clients obviously take the priority, especially since some are in a bit of a time crunch. I also have a few of my own projects I’d like to work on and can’t right now. Plus I’m always unsure if my prices are fair {to me}. I like being affordable because I know a lot of my clients are SAHMs like me and can’t afford to spend a small fortune on graphic design. But, depending on the project my wages are as low as a dollar an hour. So yeah, it’s a bit frustrating at times.

I have one more post about bullying I’d like to write. And I’ve got a list of posts I want to write for my other blog. Plus NaNoWriMo is coming up and I know that is going to take a lot of my free time. I also have some reading I’d like to do. And of course there’s a long list of random to-do items that need to be taken care of {e.g. open a RESP account for Lucy, return some borrowed items, sort out all the clothes Lucy has outgrown, etc.}. With so much to keep track of I think even if I didn’t have ADD I’d feel overwhelmed. But I do have ADD and it’s been bad lately. I feel like I’m in such a fog. I’ve started taking fish oil supplements again because the Omega 3’s are supposed to help. But I don’t know if it’s enough. I may have to ask the doctor about using antidepressants {which can be used to treat ADD} since I can’t take the normal ADHD meds while breastfeeding.

I’m also considering shutting down Coffee for the duration of NaNoWriMo, or maybe for the month of December. But I can’t decide if I want to do that. I’ve even considered retiring this blog but I know I would regret that in about 24 hours. If I were rich I’d just hire a personal assistant/maid. Yeah, that would be perfect.

Anyway…that’s just some random stuff I wanted to put out there.

The response to my last post has been almost exclusively a variation of “me too.” It makes me wonder how many of the people I pass in the grocery store feel the hurt of past bullying. Is that guy in the car next to me at the stop light as self-conscious as I am? Maybe not. But maybe he is.

A few people have asked me what can be done?

The truth is I don’t have the answer to that question. I don’t know how to stop bullying. If there is a universal plan to end it {and I doubt that’s the case} I have no clue what it is. All I can offer is some advice that may help others find the solution to individual cases of bullying.

• Ask your children if they are being bullied. Ask them if they are bullying others. Let them know bullying is unacceptable. They may not tell you the truth when you ask, but if you don’t talk to them they may not tell you anything at all.
• If your child is being bullied do not feed them clichés. Sticks and stones break bones, but words can’t be healed by a few weeks in a cast. Sayings like that do nothing to make a victim feel better. In fact they can add to the victim’s shame by making them feel invalidated and as if something is wrong with them for feeling hurt in the first place.
• If your child is being bullied do not tell them to just ignore it. Not only is that teaching them they shouldn’t speak up for themselves and be assertive, it doesn’t work. Often bullies will escalate the harassment in response to such tactics. Fighting back is not the answer, but neither is laying down and letting the bullies continue. We teach people how they can treat us through our actions. Ignoring bullying teaches the perpetrators that they may bully us.
• If teachers, principles, etc. do not take the problem seriously keep going over their heads until you find somebody who will. You are your child’s advocate. They need someone in their corner.
• Consider counselling.

This advice is formed based on experience. I’m not a child psychologist. But I was a victim. And I know what it feels like. For more information on bullying and prevention check out this Wikipedia article and this Bully Free Alberta campaign.

You remember that girl in elementary school who nobody particularly liked, the one who would often spend recess with a good book instead of a good friend?

I was that girl.

You remember that girl in middle school who wore the dorkiest clothes you’d ever seen, the one who got made fun of for not shaving her legs and who didn’t have many friends?

I was that girl.

You remember that girl in high school who was a total nerd, the one who people thought was kind of a freak?

I was that girl.

I grew up being bullied, teased, lied to, laughed at, and humiliated. Some of my most vivid memories are of the torture my peers inflicted…holding votes while the teacher was out of the room to see how many people didn’t like me, teasing me because I wore the wrong shorts to gym, making fun of me behind my back during my chorus solo, pretending to be my friend so I could be made fun of when absent.

In first grade I wanted to die. There were times at night I’d sneak out to the kitchen to get a knife only to put it back because I was afraid killing myself would be painful.

In second grade I fell in love with whales and was devastated to find that not only was my new passion unappreciated, but was a new source of material for those who mocked me.

In fifth grade I felt shamed by my teachers {in addition to the continued harassment from my classmates} for being forgetful.

In sixth grade I was heartbroken to discover that I was no less a “loser,” no higher on the totem pole than I had been at my old school even though most of my new classmates had never even met me.

In ninth grade I found myself paralyzed by fear when assigned seating placed me next to the worst of my tormentors for 3/4 of the school year.

For years I wracked my brain trying to discover what was wrong with me. What did I do to earn their abuse? What was so bad about me that so many people disliked me so much? Why couldn’t I figure out how to make it stop?

For years I kept it secret. I never told my parents. I never told anyone, never sought help because I was ashamed. I was ashamed that I was so un-cool that I warranted that much venom from those around me. I didn’t want to talk about being bullied because I honestly felt it was somehow my fault.

It was only within the last few years that I realized it had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with them. But even knowing that the damage is still there. I’m still terrified of what people think. I still wonder which people are making fun of me when I’m not there to hear it. I still fear conflict. I still lack confidence. And I still hurt.

I am the proud new owner of a Yeti hat.

Just wanted to share. Have a good weekend!