Tidy Cats Tough Odor Solutions Glade– Chewy.com


*Disclaimer: I received this product from Chewy.com for free to facilitate my honest opinion. All opinions are 100% my own. *



Having two cats, heck just even having one cat, finding the right cat litter can be a HUGE challenge. For the most part, all of my cats have been indoor/outdoor cats. But living in an apartment, I don’t really trust to have my cats as indoor/outdoor cats, so I am always on the search for just the right cat litter.

PlasmaCar Fun & Giveaway - Holiday Gift Guide


*Disclaimer: I received this product from Plasmart Toys to facilitate my honest opinion. All opinions in this review are 100% my own and those of the children that have tried out the product. *

The holidays are coming up and when you have kids, sometimes it’s hard to find that right gift that they are going to like. The PlasmaCar by Plasmart is a ride-on toy for ages 3 and up. All you need to get it to move is the energy that the children love to bottle up, and well my children love to bottle up their energy for sure! 

School Portraits - Love Doing Photography


I LOVE photography, it is one of my favorite past times. Before I started doing photography more and more, I would always just let the school do their school portraits and I would purchase them. Now that I have my own DSLR (which I do eventually plan on upgrading it), I have been enjoying photography more. I am always doing the kids' school portraits now.

Living Life with Fibromyalgia


Back in December 2009 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Back then it was still new and dr’s were still learning about. There really weren’t any medications at that time for people to take to help with the pain and inflammation. Before I even knew that I had Fibromyalgia, I literally lived off Tylenol and Ibuprofen, but of course they never really helped with the pain. Once I was diagnosed, my dr at the time, put me on Morphine (for pain) and Flexeril (for muscle spasms). At the end, I was on 90 mg of Morphine a day and 90 mg of Flexeril a day. A lot of people have asked me how I was able to function at the time, especially being on that amount of medication in a day. My dr slowly increased how many mg I took in a day.

Dr. Elsey’s Clean Tracks Cat Litter – Chewy.com



*Disclaimer: I received this product from Chewy.com for free to facilitate my honest opinion. All opinions are 100% my own. *

When you have 2 or more cats, finding the right cat litter really can be a pain. You are always looking for the fact that it’s a clumping litter (because let’s just face it, if it doesn’t clump it’s a pain to clean that cat litter box). The other thing that I look for is the odor protection. I swear, Salem is the worst! I must spray the apt when that cat uses the litter box, because his poop will stink up the place hahaha

Blue Buffalo Halloween Boo Treats


*Disclaimer: I received this product from Chewy.com for free to facilitate my honest opinion. All opinions are 100% my own. *

Blue Buffalo has a wide range of flavors when it comes to their treats for your best friend. Their pumpkin and cinnamon Halloween Boo Bars are the perfect Halloween treats for your pups.

Singing Machine Is a Fun Way to Sing Your Night Away – Holiday Gift Guide


*Disclaimer: I received these products for free from Singing Machine in return for providing my honest and genuine review. All opinions are 100% my own. *


Got kids that love music? That just love to turn up the volume and start singing & dancing to the song they are listening to? Singing Machine has the greatest karaoke machines for children & adults of all ages.

Dear Nephew & Niece to Come - A Letter


I have been thinking about doing this for the last few days, it has been something that has been weighing heavily on my heart. Trying to determine what I wanted to say or how I wanted to word things was especially the hardest, because I, above all, don’t want to name any names, so that makes it harder for me, because I want to use names, at least on the other end of the party. This letter is something that I have mentally been writing in my mind for the past few days, determining what I am wanting to say, how I want to say it, etc. Ok, I am going to head on into this letter for my nephew and my niece that is due to make her entrance.

Purina Pro Planned Canned Cat Food – Chewy.com


*Disclaimer: I received this product from Chewy.com for free to facilitate my honest opinion. All opinions are 100% my own. *

If you have kittens or if you like to spoil your adult cats like I do, Chewy.com has their Purina Pro Planned Canned Cat Food, it’s their Chicken & Turkey favorites variety pack. I love getting the 3oz cans of cat food, especially when it’s a 24 pack. Having 2 cats in the home, one is a 14-week-old kitten and the other one is 11 months old. The two of them get spoiled and they get the canned food mixed in with their dry cat food.
Purina, cat food, wet cat food, canned cat food, Purina Pro Plan,

Zignature Kangaroo Dog Food – Chewy.com


*Disclaimer: I received this item from Chewy.com for free for my honest opinion. All opinions are 100% my own. *

Are you like me and have a dog or dogs that might be a little picky on their food? Or hey, maybe they’re not so picky on their food and they will just eat whatever you put in front of them. Chewy.com has Zignature Kangaroo Grain-Free Dry Dog food. Yeah, I know, I never knew that they a Kangaroo flavored dog food before either, so don’t worry, you’re not the only one.

A Sassy Mom’s Weight Loss Journey


After becoming a mom, I have dealt with weight issues, it especially got worse after I got my tubes tied and had more surgeries done afterwards. I decided that I didn’t like the way that my body looks. There are some things that I can’t change how my stomach looks as they are scars from surgeries. This is the start of a new me, the journey of a new lifestyle, a new change. I look forward to sharing this journey with you and I hope that maybe some of you will maybe even join me in this journey if you too are struggling with weight issues.

Go Back to School with A Vaschy Backpack


*Disclaimer: I received this product from Vaschy for my honest opinion. All opinions are 100% my own. There is no compensation for this review*

It’s that time of year again, time for kids to start getting up early, scrambling around to make sure that everything is ready, rushing out the door to make sure the kids get to the bus on time. The one thing I struggle with every year is finding a good backpack that is going to last my boys through the school year, especially my son who is in middle school, I always must buy him a new backpack by the middle of the school year. If you are like me and you have a hard time finding a backpack that is going to last for your kids, Vaschy has got what you are looking for!

Day 26 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 26: If you could have a $1,000 gift card to any place, where would it be?

If I could have a $1,000 gift card to any place of my choice, I would probably choose Wal*Mart. Now if I could choose more than one place and have two gift cards I would have Wal*Mart and Michael’s Arts & Crafts lol I love my washi tape, pens, scrapbook paper, etc. But I must stick with Wal*Mart right now, because I would go on a total clothes shopping spree for the kids and me. I would also throw in some shoes as well. $200 for each of us is not that bad, it’s a decent amount of money.

Meet My Children


I have talked a little bit about my children here and there, and I will talk about my children more and more as my blog grows and my children get older and new things happen in my life and theirs. A good example right now is school is starting back up and my baby girl Cheyanne is starting Kindergarten and she is the last kid to leave the house for school, so it’s a big moment for me, it will be the first time in 15 years that I won’t have a kid in the house when school starts. So, let me start telling you about my wonderful, fun loving kids!

Day 22 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 22: What’s in your purse/handbag?

Oh, the purse, the bag that holds everything under the sun for a female! I have my wallet, which is the same color (or at least close enough in color) to my purse. I purchased the two of these together because I needed a yearly upgrade on them. Then I have my keys, can’t leave the house without my keys, even if my husband is the one who is driving. I have a few pens as well because you never know when you may have to write something down. Lastly, I have my lip balms, I have 3 eos lip balms, 3 Hershey’s Kisses lip balms Soft Lips lip balm (it’s the square one) and 2 Chap*Ice lip balm. Yes, I know, I have a lot of lip balm, but I never know which one I am going to want to use and sometimes I use multiple different ones a day. I also have my 5-year-old daughter who likes to use them as well, so I like to make sure I have a selection.

Do you carry any lip balm in your purse/handbag?

Day 21 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 21: What were your favorite childhood toys?

My all-time favorite childhood toy was the Lite Bright! I love that thing. I wish they made them they way they did when I was growing up. I know that all my kids would have loved having those growing up. I want to get my 5-year-old daughter one for her birthday this year in December. I know that it will be one of the newer ones, but that will be okay.

Day 18 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 18: A TV show that you’ve recently become addicted to?

Right now the TV shows that I am addicted to and am currently watching is “The O.C.”, “The Walking Dead,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “The Crown,” and “Little People, Big World."

Are there any TV shows that you just love to watch?

Taste of the Wild Wet Cat Food, Purrrrrfect For Your Furry Friend


*Disclaimer: I received these products from Chewy.com for my honest opinion. All opinions are 100% my own. There is no compensation for this review*



Luna and Salem are my babies, other than my kids, and I tend to spoil them both quite often with wet food mixed in with their dry food.


Day 13 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 13: Talk about your piercings and/or tattoos

I just have the typical piercings, my ears, I know I’m a wild one ha-ha I only got them done twice. I have always wanted to get my nose and tongue done, but for some reason I just never got it done. I have one tattoo now, wanting to get a few more though. I have a blue heart with a banner that says “Dad” and under it, it has the date that he passed away 9/17/05

Day 12 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 12: Something you don’t leave your house without

The one thing that I would have to say that I never leave the house without would have to be my cellphone. No matter where I go that thing is on me pretty much 98% of the time. There have been times when I have ran to a friends apartment (they live below us) to talk to them and left my phone upstairs.

Day 11 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 11: What was the last movie you saw in the theater?

The last time that I went to a movie theater was 6 years ago, crazy I know! I was on a date night with the hubby and we went to go and see “American Pie Reunion.” Pretty good movie tasty food, good company, all around a good night. I just can’t believe that it’s been 6 years!

Day 10 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 10: Put your playlist on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that play

So if you go to and see the actual list it say iPod/mp3 play, but I don’t have any of those, I use Spotify. So let me get my playlist on shuffle and get the first 10 songs written down 😊

1. Can’t Buy Me Love by The Beatles
2. If I Ruled The World by Big Time Rush
3. Poker Face by Lady Gaga
4. What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
5. Cowboy by Kid Rock
6. Bless The Broken Road by Rascal Flatts
7. Boondocks by Little Big Town
8. Lights, Camera, Action by New Kids On The Block
9. As Long as You Love Me by Backstreet Boys
10. I Thought She Knew by NSync

Day 9 of 30 Challenge


Day 9: Five places you want to visit

Paris:
I have always wanted to go to Paris. Going there for a honeymoon with Neil would just be the greatest thing in the world to me. It just looks so beyond beautiful there and I would love to go to the Eiffel Tower, that would just be amazing! On top of that there are so many things to do in Paris, I honestly wouldn’t even know where to start!


London:
London is one place that I have always wanted to go to since I was a little girl actually. It has always caught my attention, and I really don’t know why really. But I would really love to take my two oldest sons there (Matthew and Jackson) so they can see where part of them are from (their biological father is was born there) and maybe meet up with their Aunt Suzie (she’s a Marilyn Monroe impersonator).


New York:
New York has been another place that has also always caught my attention. I don’t know what it is about the big city, maybe it’s all the business about it, or all the people, or all the stores. But I have always wanted to go there, maybe even visit with some of Neil’s family that lives there too.


Australia:
I would love to go to Australia as well. Honestly, if I could have like a 4 week vacation where I go to Paris, London, Australia, and Rome I would be in 7th Heaven. That would be the GREATEST vacation ever! Australia looks like a very beautiful place to visit and the beaches look very gorgeous. Taking a day and just spending it on the beach to relax sounds amazing!


Rome:
Rome is such a gorgeous place to visit, granted I have never visited there, but it does look gorgeous. This is a place that I would love to take a vacation with Neil to, it looks like it is definitely a couple place.


Day 8 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 8: Three things you want to say to three different people

Okay, so I won’t lie, this is going to be hard, because not only are there more than three people that I want to tell something too, but the three people that I am choosing to tell something too, there are more than three things that I want to tell them. So just to keep things on a more personal level, I won’t put their names out there, I’ll just name them, Person 1, Person 2, and Person 3. Ok, let’s get started.

Person 1: I want to thank you for the last 11 ½ years. You have showed me that being loved and loving someone was possible again. I am so thankful that you so willfully came into my life, knowing that I had children and took them into your life as if they were your own.

Person 2: When we met 3 years ago at the bus stop, we just clicked, and we just knew that we were going to be best friends from the start, we were just the same. You are the one of the best friends in my life and I can’t see you never being in my life ever. You will forever be a part of my life and a part of my family and the same with you kids, you guys will never be able to leave me!

Person 3: With you, well there are more than three things that I want to say to you. I honestly don’t know how you could not want anything to do with the one son that wants something to do with you. I don’t get how a parent, like you, could just push a child aside and not even speak with them.

Day 5 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 5: The meaning behind your Twitter and/or Instagram name

My Twitter name is @Sassy_Mom17, I picked that name because I am always being told by those that are close to me that I am just as sassy as can be. Of course, this has been told me ever since I was young, so it would make sense that it would continue into my adulthood. Obviously, the mom part is because I am mom. The 17 just represents the year that I restarted all of this.

My Instagram name is sassy_momto4. I think this pretty much speaks for itself. I am sassy, I am a mom, and I have 4 kids. Pretty self-explanatory.

Day 4 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 4: 10 likes and 10 dislikes

10 Likes:
1. My husband, my kids, and my fur babies (ok, well I love them all more that like them!)
2. My closest friends
3. Photography
4. Stargazer Lilies
5. The Walking Dead
6. Trying out new recipes
7. Brush Lettering
8. Doing new DIY projects
9. Going to the beach (especially Lincoln City, OR)
10. Dr. Pepper (can’t help it, got to have this on my list of likes)

10 Dislikes:
1. Spiders
2. Snakes
3. People who use others
4. People who drive slow in the fast lane
5. Liars and Cheats
6. Small spaces
7. Laundry (come on now, who would put that on their like list)
8. Scrubbing Toilets (ha-ha yeah this is NOT a fun job when you have 3 boys)
9. People who get mad about the smallest things
10. When people talk on their cellphones while driving (those that hold the phone in their hands while driving)

Finding out our son has EoE


*Disclaimer: This is a personal blog post. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to Life of a Sassy Mom of Four. All photos are the work of Viertel Photography and Life of a Sassy Mom of Four.

Do you know what EoE (Eosinophilic esophagitis)? If not, than that’s okay, because I didn’t know what it was either, I had never heard of it before. This all started back in the beginning of March though when our son Jackson was getting sick out of the blue. There was no cause to it, no other symptoms, just throwing up anything he ate or drank. In all honesty I am surprised that he didn’t lose any weight. EoE is is a chronic, allergic inflammatory disease of the esophagus.

Day 3 of 30 Blog Challenge

Day 3: A picture of you and your friends

*Beth and I in Lincoln City, OR*
This is my best friend and sister Beth. We met about 4 years ago at our apartment complex, we are actually neighbors. Through the years we have gotten very close and consider each other family. Her children will call me auntie and my children call her auntie. I am so glad that her and I have met and have built such an amazing friendship. My life wouldn’t be the same with her not it in.

Christina and I in the Target parking lot enjoying our shopping day

This is my best friend Christina and I. This was taken back when she lived with us. She was first friends with my husband and his ex-wife. Than I came into the picture, her & I hit it off, and have been the best of friends ever since! We have had each other's back since day one and even though we are currently 1,765 miles apart (give or take some), we always know when one of us needs each other, we know what the other one is thinking, etc. I love her and her son to death and I miss them both so very much!


Day 2 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 2: What are your nicknames and how did you get them?

I have a few nicknames that I have gotten from various family and friends through the years. My nicknames are Manda, Manda Panda, Manders, Pooh Bear or Pooh (because I love Winnie-the-Pooh, he is my favorite), and Princess (my uncle always called me this and still does to this day actually).

Day 1 of 30 Blog Challenge


Day 1: Post a picture of yourself with 10 facts



1. I am 36 years old
2. I have had 3 miscarriages – one being my oldest sons twin
3. I love to get my nails professionally done
4. Only been married once and we are still together after 11 years if marriage
5. I’m a say at home mom and love every minute of it
6. My youngest son is Level 2 Autistic
7. My two oldest sons both have ADHD
8. Photography is my favorite past time
9. I have been pen palling since I was 18 years old and have made quite a few lifelong friendships
10. I would love to have another baby, I got my tubes tiled 5 ½ years ago

30 Day Blog Challenge



Recently I tried to do a 61 Day Blog Challenge and well I didn’t do very good at keeping it up. So, this time I am going to start it off easier and do a 30-Day Blog Challenge. With the blog challenge, I see this as a clever way to have you, my readers, to get to know me just a little bit more. So, let’s get this party started shall we!

Day 23 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 23: Your dream job

A dream job, I haven't really thought about this in years. I would love to be a photographer. I have the means, I have the talent, but it's the time that I just don't have time to commit to it fully right now. I also financially don't have the means to purchase all the things that I need to grow my photography business. If I had the money and the space to start my own photography business, than I would do it. I do have a photography Facebook Page, Viertel Photography, that I was trying to make as a part time job, but because I didn't have a lot of props, backdrops, etc, it was hard to make it. I have a good portfolio going right now, but I would love to make being a photographer (on top of being a blogger) a full time job.

Day 22 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 22: The best thing to happen this year

Since we are only into March right now, not a whole lot has seriously happened this year. But to date I would have to say that the best thing to happen this year would be having my incisional umbilical hernia surgery repair. There is a lot of pain that comes with that surgery and a lot of recovery time too, but after having the hernia for 5 years, it was seriously worth going through all of that. I dealt with more pain over the last 5 years because of the hernia, so 6-8 weeks of pain and recovery from the surgery was worth it and I would do it all over again if I had to.

Day 21 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 21: your 10 favorite foods

Hmmm, my 10 favorite food. This might take me some time lol

1) Hawaiian Pizza
2) Shredded Beef Tacos
3) Chicken, Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese Casserole
4) Loaded Baked Potato Casserole
5) Steak
6) Spaghetti
7) Cheeseburgers
8) Tomatoes
9) Cucumbers
10) Cherries

Day 20 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 20: A difficult time in your life

I would have to say that this is probably one of the hardest posts. I have had a few difficult times in my life, and I'm not talking about like someone breaking my heart, or losing a pet (granted yes that is a hard/difficult time especially if the animal is a big part of your family), etc.

I don't know if I can just sit here and focus on just one difficult time. I spent 21 years of my life (age 4-25) with some kind of abuse (sexual, verbal, physical, emotional, mental). I was abused by my neighbor/babysitters son (who is/was in jail for abusing other girls), by my female cousin (no not all sexual abusers are males), by my own father, and by my ex-boyfriend. It wasn't until I got with my husband that all the abuse finally stopped. Another difficult time was when I did lose my dad. Yes, he spent years and years abusing me, but in 2004 he was in a serious car accident. Yes I could have just said "screw it, I don't care" but I still went to sit by his bedside. He saw what it is that he did wrong and we attempted to work on our relationship, but then he was taken from me to soon. He passed away on September 17th, 2005. The last difficult time in my life was when I got necrotizing fasciitis and was close to loosing my life. My children were so young at the time and my daughter was just a newborn. I was rushed into emergency surgery on Christmas morning 2012, so Christmas sure does have a whole new meaning for us. I deal with the reminder of that infection every day as I have a scar across my abdomen from it. I lost a 30x15x10 cm area of my abdomen, this all happened from a tubal ligation surgery!

So as you can tell, it's hard for me to choose just one difficult time in my life and talk about it.

Day 19 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 19: What do you collect?

If I had to make this into a list, well this would be a pretty long list. There are a lot of things that I enjoy collecting. I collect angels, fairies, ladybugs, dragonflies, butterflies, roses (pink and fire & ice), tulips, lilies (stargazer and jaybird), Precious Moments, Winnie-the-Pooh, key chains, shot glasses, post cards, Lisa Frank, Hello Kitty, stationery, pens, stickers, washi tape, dolphins, orcas, porcelain masks, candles, candle holders, Disney stuff, owls, frogs, notebooks, sugar skulls, snowglobes, Wizard of Oz, Rainbow Brite, adult coloring books, unicorns, mermaids, anything pink & purple, jewelry (rings, necklaces, bracelets), scrapbook paper, nail polish, make up, body spray, Marilyn Monroe, and Paris themed stuff.

Day 18 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 18: The meaning behind your blog name.

The age-old question, what's the meaning behind your blog name. As you know, my blog name is Life of a Sassy Mom of Four. I am a very sassy person, sarcastic and witty too. I also have four lovely children that I love to death. My blog is about my life, the things that I have learned since becoming a parent in 2002, talking about pet care, bringing you review products and so much more. I took all of that and started coming up with ideas for blog names and this one just kept standing out to me, so I went with it.

Day 17 of 61 Blog Challenge


Day 17: What is your most proud moment?

This is probably one of the best questions to get you thinking. Being 36 years old, I have made a lot of achievements and a lot of failures in life. As I sit here, this question has me doing a lot of deep thinking about what I have done in my life. Sitting down and writing down my proud moments, I really can't sit here and write just one down, because I have a few of them. My biggest one would be the days that I became a mom. With each kid I was proud. I was proud of what I did, I was proud of what I brought into this world. But there is a lot more that I am proud of as well.

Leaving an abusive, controlling, and destroyed relationship. This proud moment is right up there with becoming a mom. I was in this relationship for way too long. I thought that I was in love with him, heck I thought that he loved me, but towards the end of our relationship that all changed. My attitude towards him started to change, I saw that the way that he was treating me was wrong and the way that he would talk to our children wasn't right. He would try to control everything that I did, who I talked to, where I went, etc. Even though he had a job, he wouldn't help pay the bills, everything came out of my paychecks, so in the end I wasn't able to keep my cell phone going. He didn't mind that though because that meant that I wasn't able to call people, not even my mom. I wasn't even able to get the home phone going because at that time my paychecks covered our rent, my car payment, power bill, gas bill, etc. It was the top proudest day when I finally kicked him out of my life and my home. I struggled as a single mom, but I didn't mind at all. 

That brings me to my next proudest moment. Being a single working parent isn't the easiest thing. I couldn’t spend a lot of time with my kids, they were always at daycare and I was at work. I had to split the weekends with the biological father (my ex that I left), so spending the weekends with them wasn't the easiest thing to do. But I was proud of everything that I was doing on my own. I was able to make sure that I kept a roof over my children's head, food on the table, clothes on their back. I made sure that I got a routine down with them every morning and every night. I was proud of what I had accomplished with my kids. 

The next proud moment that I had was when I quit smoking 13 months ago. I had to quit smoking so that I could my incisional umbilical hernia repair with mesh. I had tried to stop smoking numerous times before in the past and I would do go for a while, but then I would break down and start back up again. I was afraid that it would happen again and that I wouldn't be able to get the surgery that I needed. But here I am going 13 months strong and yes, I still have urges, especially when my anxiety and stress get bad, but I have resisted those urges and keep pushing through it.


Day 16 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 16: What's at the top of your bucket list?

The top of my bucket list would be to travel to Paris and London. Ever since I was young I wanted to go and visit there. It looks so beautiful and romantic, so being able to travel there with my significant other would be the greatest way to spend time there.

Day 15 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 15: Timeline of your day

Well trying to make a timeline of my day is sometimes a bit of a pain because each day changes and well being a stay at home mom and only having one vehicle, I can't really do a whole lot during the day. But I will try my best to make a timeline of one of my typical days.

8:00am - Get up and make sure that Aidan is getting ready for school
8:45am - Send Aidan off to the bus stop, than head back to bed for a little while
10:00am - Cheyanne and I get up, get breakfast and start our day
11:00am - Cheyanne and I work on some of her learning books or binder. Sometimes we will work on the tablet or computer as well.
12:00pm - Make lunch for Cheyanne and I
12:45pm - Start doing some laundry, cleaning up around the apt
2:15pm - Cheyanne gets some free time and I use that time to sit down and write to pen pals/friends or I work on my blog
3:05pm - Jackson gets home from school
4:05pm - Aidan gets home from school
5:15pm - Neil gets home from work
5:30pm - Either Neil or I get dinner going
7:00pm - The kids start their bedtime routine. Showers, getting pj's on, brushing teeth, etc
8:30pm - All the kids go to bed and than it's quiet time for the parents
10:00pm - Neil usually head off to bed and I clean up a bit around the apartment.
10:45pm - I than sit down and relax for the night with writing pen pals/friends or work some more on my blog. My bedtime usually always changes. I could finally fall asleep anywhere between midnight and 5am, it just depends on how I am feeling, if I am dealing with pain, etc.

Day 14 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 14: If you won the lottery...

I have thought about this numerous times. I would purchase a new car for myself and put a good down payment towards it. I would then pay off all of my debt and work on my credit so we could purchase a house. Then I would go on a shopping spree, get all new bedroom furniture (our room, boy's room, and daughter's room), living room furniture, and dining room furniture. We have always had second hand stuff, which is totally fine because there are some that look like they are new, but after being together for almost 11.5 years, I would love for us to have some stuff that is ours, that we purchased together.

During the shopping spree I would also be getting wall decor for our place since our walls are totally bare "/ Shopping for DIY projects that I want to do for all the kids, our room, and the living/dining room is another thing that I want to grab. Having those homemade things around the home, having them made the way that you like them, makes it feel more like a home.

The final thing would be planning a big family vacation. We have done family vacations to the Oregon Coast, but I want to plan a bigger family vacation to Disneyland or Legoland. Neil and I will finally get our honeymoon (no, we never had a honeymoon), travel to Hawaii, Paris, and Bahamas. Then Neil and I would get to go on our cruise as well.

The rest of the money will just sit in our account and be used as need to pay bills, get the kids and ourselves things that we need, etc.

Recovering From an Incisional Hernia Repair

So I have been kind of off and on lately, even on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc as I am still recovering from an Incisional Hernia Repair (aka Ventral Hernia Repair). Due to having an infection in the area that they did the hernia repair, just the smallest little thing that looks out of place to me sends me into a panic. 5 years ago I got necrotizing fasciitis from a simple tubal ligation surgery. I had told dr's that there was something wrong, that something was not right, but I kept getting blown off and treated like I didn't know what I was talking about. And than on Christmas morning I was rushed to the ER because my incision site ruptured open and I was then later rushed in for an emergency surgery. The infection was only 24-48 hours away from becoming toxic. My children were so young at the time (10, 8, 5, and 8 days old), so just the smallest little thing that looks odd to me, I go a little crazy.

Day 13 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 13: What is your earliest memory?

Wow, trying to think back to my earliest memory is interesting. I have so many memories from when I was younger, but I don't know my age for all of them.

One memory that does stand out in my head was when I was 5 1/2 years old and my mom was in labor with my younger brother. I remember my mom screaming from all the pain, and I was so scared, so I was hiding under her bed, plugging my ears, and crying. At that time I didn't understand what was going on with her. I remember my dad coming and taking me to my grandma's (his mom) house so that she could take care of me while they were at the hospital.

Day 12 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 12: What's Inside Your Fridge?

Do you honestly want to see inside my fridge? Yeah, as you can tell I'm not that healthy of a person and we get what we can afford really. We got our milk, boiled eggs, juices, applesauce, and other little things. Then of course we have the typical condiments on the side of the fridge along with the butter/margarine.


Day 11 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 11: List 15 of Your Favorite Things

Wow, having to narrow it down to only 15 things is going to be quite interesting and kind of hard, as there are a lot of things that really are my favorite things :) But I will try my hardest to pick my top 15 favorite things!

1) Pens - I love my pens, all kinds of pens. Gel pens, ballpoint pens, all those kinds. I love to have colorful pens as well. When I am writing in my journal or I am writing to my pen pals, I like to make my pages all colorful with all the colors of my pens.

2) EOS Lipbalm - I have to have that on me at all times. I have one in my purse, one on my nightstand, and one in my desk drawer, that way I have access to one at all times. With the way that the weather tends to change here in the PNW (Pacific Northwest), my lips will get dry and I LOVE EOS products, so I have a stock on it.

3) Stickers - I love stickers, they make the pages that I am writing on even prettier :) yes as you can tell right now, I love to write. I enjoy pen palling, it's a great past time and one that is a lot art in a way. But I use the stickers to decorate my pages in my journal or letters that I am writing to a pen pal/friend.

4) Washi Tape - Washi tape is another one to add to my list of favorite things. I also use these to decorate my journal pages, letters to pen pals, and even the envelopes that I send my letters in.

5) Laptop - I love my laptop, it is one of my favorite things. Of course if it wasn't I probably wouldn't be blogging right now lol I also love my laptop for all the photo editing and graphic design that I do on it.

6) Paintshop Pro - I love this program and I use it quite often to edit my photos that I will use on my blog and for my photography.

7) Nikon D3000 - Oh my DSLR, how I love it! One of my favorite items to have. I love taking pictures and sharing them with the rest of the world.

8) Cell Phone - My cell phone is always on me. I use it when I'm out and about to check emails, do my social media, etc.

9) Tablet - When I'm at my desk and working on my laptop, I like to watch/listen to Netflix/Hulu/Xfinity stream to keep myself pre-occupied and not worry about all the other stuff that is going on (when my husband is home). While I am also working I can watch/listen to some of the shows that I like.

10) Journals - With my anxiety, I enjoy writing in my journal. I actually collect the journals as well. Writing in a journal helps me release a lot of stuff that I am holding in and that I need to get out, but don't want to talk about it with people.

11) Shoes - After, well almost 20 years, I have started to become a big shoe person and my shoe collection is starting to show.

12) Shirts - My new style in shirts has grown quite a lot as well. I also love my lazy day t-shirts with either  cute designs or sarcastic sayings.

13) Solar/Acrylic Nails - I LOVE getting my nails done and getting solar/acrylic nails. I love trying new looks, new designs and new colors.

14) Adult Coloring Books - Sitting back and relaxing, letting your creativity flow and being able to color things the way you want is great. Coloring is a great stress reliever.

15) Yoga Pants - When I am doing things around the apt or even just relaxing or working (like I am right now), being in comfy yoga pants makes doing things a lot easier.

Day 10 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 10: What's Your Best Physical Feature

Well I honestly believe that my best physical feature would be my eyes. I don't really quite know why lol I have those chocolate brown eyes, so sometimes they do tend to stand out depending on how I do my make up. I used to wish that I had a prettier color eyes, like blue, green or hazel, but even my husband loves my eyes, so I guess that is a big plus on my part.


Day 9 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 9: What Are Your Worst Habits

Oh man, I have to figure out my worst habits. This is going to be fun and interesting. I guess I will find some new things about myself as well 😋

1. I tend to sleep in quite often. Although right now I am doing a lot of sleeping due to recovery from surgery.

2. I spend a good portion of my day sitting. With my fibromyalgia it can make it hard to get up and do daily house chores so I have to take a lot of breaks.

3. I curse a lot. My husband is an ex-Sailor, so we both tend to curse quite often.

4. I tend to do emotional shopping if I can, if our finances allow it anyways.

5. I will candy binge at times. Instead of eating actual meals, those certain times of the month I will want nothing by candy or sweets.

6. I will talk to myself and even answer myself at times. When I talk out loud to myself I will actually make my husband or kids think that I am talking to them and they will sometimes answer me.

Day 7 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 7: Your Pet Hates/Peeves

Ooohhh the pet peeves! This is going to be a fun one, because there isn't a certain number. Let's see how many pet peeves I actually have! HAHAHA

1. When people run late, which than causes me to run late. I can't stand that. I understand that things come up, but when they just flat out tell me that they just plain forgot after I reminded them numerous times, it drives me nuts!

2. When people chew with their mouth open. My dad used to do it all the time and I wanted to smack him lol

3. Running nails on a chalkboard, but of course who does like that! I honestly don't know how you can even handle running your nails across a chalkboard. Heck just thinking about it right now makes me cringe.

4. Drivers that are in the fast lane but are going slower than the speed limit! If you are going to do that than move over into the slow lane PLEASE!

5. People watching me eat. I don't know why people insist on watching me eat, but I certainly don't care to be watched like some animal.

6. When my phone wants to load a webpage so slow, especially when it's something important that I need to look up.

7. Repeating myself numerous times. I think that I do this multiple times a day, especially with my kids. I swear I sound like a broken record.

8. Toilet seat being left up! That right there drives me insane. They lifted the dang thing up, so how hard is it to put the thing back down? It was a constant battle in my home for awhile, but now I have everyone closing the lids to the toilets thanks to my cat.

9. Attention Hogs/Know-It-Alls drive me up the wall. I get it, you like the attention because you know it all, but give me a break please!

Wow, I actually didn't have as many pet peeves as I thought that I would lol

Day 5 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 5: 10 Songs You Love Right Now

Well I love such a variety of music that I don't honestly think that I could come up with 10 songs that I love at the moment. All the songs that are on my Spotify playlist are all songs that I love. I don't really have particular songs that I love at a certain time, so I decided to go to my Spotify app, head to my playlist and put it on shuffle. These are the first 10 songs to play.

1. Landslide by Dixie Chicks
2. Wanna Be by Spice Girls (yes that's right, I have Spice Girls on my playlist)
3. Division of the Heart by Heffron Drive
4. Drift Away by Uncle Kracker
5. Good Time by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen
6. I Walk The Line by Johnny Cash
7. Pump It by The Black Eyed Peas
8. Cats In The Cradle by Harry Chapin
9. Prayin' For Daylist by Rascal Flatts
10. Girl On TV by LFO

As you can tell, I wasn't kidding when I said that I like a wide variety of music 😊 Music helps with my anxiety, so I listen to a lot of music. I just bring up my Spotify app, put my playlist on shuffle, put my headphones in and just listen to music.

Day 4 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 4: What Are You Afraid Of

Well I'm afraid of the typical stuff, snakes, spiders, bees, moths, well insects in general, & the dentist. But I am also afraid of bigger things like losing my family (kids, husband, etc), and dying (especially since I was already so close to dying once before).

Day 3 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 3: My Favorite Quote

This is kind of a hard one, because there are a few quotes that I do like and think about quite often. But the one that is standing out to me the most today is this one.

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." - C.S. Lewis

Growing up and through part of my adult life (up until I was 24 years old), I went through a lot of trauma. For the longest time I wish that I could go back and change the way that things were. But I learned that I couldn't change what happened, but I could take what happened, make myself stronger as a person and change the way my ending goes.

Day 2 of 61 Blog Challenge

Day 2: 20 Facts About Me

Oh wow, 20 facts about me huh? I sometimes don't know if I know 20 random facts about me that would be interesting, but I guess we will find out huh hahaha Alright, let's get started on this!

1) I was born in 1981, so that would make me 36 years young!

2) My husband and I got married after being together for only 6 months. A lot of people didn't think that we would make it, but we sure have!

3) Have been happily together with my husband for 11 years now and married for 10.5 years!

4) I have an older brother, but know nothing about him to be able to search for him. My dad's ex had him when they were 14 years old.

5) If I could have it my way, I would have a pink Paris themed bedroom.

6) I have 2 dogs (mini dachshunds) and 1 cat (calico). Our dogs names are Copper and Boomer, & my cat's name is Luna (aka Sassy) lol

7) I LOVE lemonheads, they are literally my all times favorite candy.

8) My dad passed away on September 17th, 2005. We never had the best relationship when I was growing up, but after his accident, we got a closer father/daughter bond.

9) I have been pregnant 6 times with 7 babies (4 live births and 3 miscarriages).

10) My oldest son is a twin. His twin was lost early in the pregnancy, but no one knew until that twins waterbag (which still formed since day one) broke first and my oldest ones was still fully in tact when I went into labor.

11) My husband asked me to marry him twice, which both times I did say YES! The first time was a week and a half into our relationship and the second time (which was when we told everyone) was 5 months into our relationship. What can I say, guess we knew that we were meant to be!

12) My diet sucks lol I don't drink enough water or eat enough fruits and veggies. I actually barely eat at times, so I sometimes dislike going out to eat with people because I can be the first one done and then I am stuck sitting there waiting for everyone else to be done.

13) I have my tubes tied, but there are times that I regret it. I wish that I could have another baby, but know that my body couldn't handle another one.

14) I actually never graduated from high school. I was supposed to graduate in 2001, but I left 2 months before graduation due to medical bills that I needed to pay, so I left to work full time and pay my bills.

15) I suffer from Fibromyalgia, which caused me to lose my job. I missed a lot of work due to my flare ups and being in pain all the time.

16) I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and was told at 13 years old that I would need fertility treatment if I wanted to have kids. But I had all 4 of my kids without fertility treatments.

17) I'm a very outgoing person, especially once I get to know you. I can be very talkative, of course which person can't be talkative when the only person that they have to talk to during the day is a 5 year old lol

18) I don't really like to fly, but I want to travel. I want to go to Paris, London, Costa Rica, etc.

19) I love to blog and write. I started blogging a few years ago but it was just a straight up review blog. I decided to start all over and start writing about other stuff.

20) I love to pen pal. No one really does the handwriting mail anymore, it's like they forgot about the fun part in it. I have been pen palling since I was 18 years old (so yes 18 years) and I love it. It helps calm me and I have made some of the most awesome and closest friends through it.

WOW! I can't believe it, I actually figured out 20 facts about myself. It took me a few hours, but I managed to do it!