"Relationships" Part One

I would like to do a series of articles based on the relationships we have in our lives; from spouses to siblings and those in between! I really hope you guys enjoy it, and if there are any subjects anyone would like talked about I would be more than happy to take suggestions.  Anyways, today I'm going to talk about my husband, Thomas, and I. Now I'm not writing on marriage because I'm some sort of expert; I have just gone through more counseling that most people and together Thomas and I have had some extraordinarily hard times and have learned some hard heartfelt lessons.

Firstly, I'd like to talk about bad mouthing your spouse behind their back.  Now as a woman I sadly love gossip (guilty pleasure, horrible I know) and it's so easy to fall into a trap of venting to a girlfriend or even your mom.  While venting is fine, healthy even, you have to stay respectful.  It's hard not to start calling names, possibly exaggerating even just to get your point across.  You're eventually gonna make up with your sweetie and things will go back to the way they were or even better.  But now you've got your friend/mom/whoever thinking ill of your other half.  Now you're in a spot!  And if so make it mutually agreed upon that there will be no bad mouthing behind eachothers back.  There's no need for it and nothing is gained from it but hurt, so just think about that the next time you wanna start going off on how crappy of a relationship you have.  Now that talking behind backs has been discussed I feel it's even more important to watch what you say to their face!  A large number of my friends in relationships that fight like crazy, all gloves are off and they're going in for the kill.  Why? Why? Why? I absolutely HATE seeing my hubby hurt!  In a fit of anger or not I never want to intentionally be a cause of pain to him.  If you aren't really that concerned about that point, then I guarantee you, you're in the wrong relationship or possibly shouldn't be in one!  Stay respectful to eachother.  It is vital in a relationship that mutual respect is given.  And remember this, "If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, water your own damn lawn!"

That's all for now!

Peace Out

-MamaK-

START NOW!!!

     Okay, in the past my hubby and I have been very spoiled with a Christmas bonus at the first of December making the holiday shopping very easy on the finances.  Most people are not as lucky...and now neither are we.  To make a long story very short, we no longer get the Christmas bonus.  At first when I found out I freaked out, but sat on the computer looking at the budget and we made a plan.  In this economy very few of us can actually save money.  The second we get a paycheck it's gone on bills and somehow we're still behind.  I'll get into finaces in another post, for now I'd like to stick with Christmas shopping becuase I think a lot of people can benefit from this plan. 
     Department stores know that this year spending will not be what it has been in the past so more and more are offering layaway plans.  Layaway is PERFECT for Christmas. Here are a few stores that I know are doing layaway this year, although I'm sure there are more: Walmart, Kmart, Sears, Best Buy, Toys R Us, TJMaxx, Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory, among many others. Depending on what your budget is for Christmas you'll need to decide when you should start shopping. 
I should have started earlier, but August is my starting point.  I am going to start shopping here pretty soon and I'll be putting nearly everything on layaway.  This also helps with the price gouging that a lot of stores do during the holidays, so if you beat the holiday season you get more for less. You can add more to your layaway as you pay more things off.  Have a certain amount set aside in your budget, no matter how small, and make sure the full amount goes to the layaway program.  Try never to just pay the minimum. Get the gifts paid off as soon as you can.
     Alright, so now you've got a pretty steady stream of gifts coming throughout the upcoming months.  What do you do with them? If you have little peekers like I do even the best hiding spots are rarely enough.  We've decided to rent a small storage unit for $25 a month and keep everything Christmas oriented in there.  It helps with the clutter we get at Christmas and keeps prying eyes out!
     Financial stress does a lot to a person and a relationship.  Christmas is the worst time of year for financial issues because there is so much going out and some parents like myself tend to overdue it at Christmas and end up putting us in a financial bind until tax time. This plan not only helps guarantee a less stressful Christmas but it'll help you actually have an enjoyable one :)

That's all for now!

-Peace Out-

MamaK

Struggling through pain

We all have days where our bodies are in a lot of pain. It's when those days go on and on and on with no relief that I can't handle. I'm in a lot of pain today and am not dealing well. My poor little ones are stuck being entertained by the television and are eating snacks! I've had to turn to pain pills waiting on a surgery to fix my messed up insides; and I'm far from happy about that. 99% of the time my marijuana is enough to cure whatever is ailing me, but not this time :( So many people struggle with chronic pain and with the epidemic of prescription medication abuse on the rise it's very scary!! I know personally that if I would have taken better care of my body all these years I might not be in this spot. We don't exercise or eat well enough to keep our bodies in the shape they could be in. But if you're like me it's not as easy as joining a gym and working out; I have too many pain issues for that. Doing yusomething small like a two block walk would be perfect to start, but just do something. It's hard for me too but something's got to start! I read something online about being more compassionate with ourselves, caring more about our bodies and our mental health. The better we feel about ourselves the more likely we are to take better care of our health. For the longest time I literally didn't care about my health, figured I'd always be lucky and the lived the famous saying "nothing serious would happen to me". I have been lucky compared to some though, I will say that. But it's definitely time for me to start taking better overall care of my body and work on being kind to myself...if you don't love yourself, nobody else will!

That's all for now :)

Peace out!
MamaK

Malcolm and Anya-The new members of the Family

Ah, the joys of bringing a new puppy home! The excitement is over the top, everyone wants to hold it, and most of the time we make a trip to Walmart to pick up cute little puppy toys. If you're like me you'll be picking out little outfits too! But then it sets in...training! Very few people are actually fully prepared for a puppy before they bring it home. I know we weren't!
Anyways, we just got two new frufru papillion puppies and we are crate training. It's the best way I've found to potty train a new puppy. The whining gets a bit much, but so far it's working well. It sucks to have to put your brand new little baby in a crate, but you HAVE to!!!
Humans and dogs can have very special relationships! I'm so excited for mine to grow with the new ones! We currently have a houseguest with dogs of her own and she is literally a dog whisperer and teaching me so much about training a better behaving dog. There are many trainers and training schools in pretty much every town. I think that every pet owner should consider some sort of pet training because it really does result in a better behaving dog and better best friend later on :)

That's all for now!

Peace out....
MamaK

Dealing with loss

A very dear friend of my husband's passed to the other side today. The tears well up, waves of emotion come and go, and memories are held with more appreciation. Although sadly I did not know this friend, and this is the first time in our marriage we have had to deal with a close death. I hate to see him hurt, rips my heart out. We've both dealt with the death of close ones in our past, but this time we at least have each other. Having someone to lean on is so important especially in hard times like these. As a wife, being there with arms open is all I can offer. I'm reminded now of how lucky we are, and it takes hard times to see that sometimes, sadly. For some, there is time to say goodbye and some not. If you're still reading this please take just a moment today to remember that you're lucky to be here, even if you don't want to be. You're here for some reason...make it count!

Medical Marijuana and Me

Marijuana and I have quite the history. I never touched anything so called "drug" related growing up and like a lot of people thought marijuana was a horrible zombifying gateway drug. I felt this way for years and years and judged so many people because of their marijuana use. Now, let me point out now, that ANYTHING taken out of moderation is not good for you, the same goes for marijuana. Anyways, I have a long history of hernia surgeries! You know those ones with the mesh that's in the news for the lawsuits? Well that's what I've got plus a huge number of other ailments. Well for the longest time I turned to narcotic pain killers and admittedly became very addicted to them. I also suffer from chronic depression, PTSD, anxiety disorder, bipolar, self mutilation disorder, among a long list of other issues, so I was on a high amount of anti psychotics. Let's just say, I was a mess. People don't realize what mental illness does to a person and that it's as much of a disease as any other. Well after years on heavy narcotics and antipsychotics my kidneys were failing, AND I WAS ONLY 28!!! So after an evening talking with my husband and doing research online, I "luckily" (so to speak) had an appointment with my doctor that next morning and talked with her about it. I had expressed to her my concerns about it which she understood. Honestly though, at that point I was SO sick of pills and knowing I was on the road to death I was willing to try anything. So she filled out the paperwork for my medical marijuana card and that was that! Due to a natural plant I was able to completely withdraw from 1600mg of Seraquil, over 3 Xanax a day, any narcotics, I could literally go on an on. I will say my first time smoking marijuana was pretty funny! Had no idea what to expect but I pretty much just laughed my ass off just about the whole time! It took me time to come off of so much but I did it!!! I read stories all the time about medical marijuana saving people's lives. I'm proud to be among them.
There is a lot of uneducated judgment that comes along with my situation. I'm a stay at home mother and a medical marijuana patient, and those words don't go together for a lot of people. "You're a mom and you smoke weed!" That's what I get. Here's the thing though, I was such a zombie on all the man made pills that my mother in law had to watch my kids because I was incapable. That's a HARD thing for a mother! Now I'm with my kids nearly nonstop! We have tickle fests, we dance, we laugh, we play. I have a relationship with my kids because I am able to handle my symptoms with the use of my medicine. I want people to know about marijuana and the hemp plant in general and hopefully change some misconceptions! I hope you all enjoyed my little story and I'll be posting more on medical marijuana and facts about its uses...stay tuned!

Also here's a story that was published on me, in case you want to read it here it is :)
http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-6829-dry-market.html

Peace out...
MamaK

Just be you &;3

Everyone in your life has their own opinion on how you should live your life. It's always about how you should do things better, be better...whatever it is. Too often we take others opinions and let it affect how we live our life. How are you supposed to truly be happy in life if you're living it for everyone else? Just being you is enough; more than enough actually.

This is the lesson I'm working on right now. It's a hard one though. We want approval from those around us. It's imbedded in us from when we're little to try and make others happy. Us as parents need to make sure that we are teaching our kids how to be happy within themselves. Being a parent is by FAR the hardest job ever. We take for granted that everything we do when they are young is shaping them for life! And people will tell you how to raise your kids and you HAVE to let it roll off you and raise your kids the way YOU believe is right!

Stick to your convictions, trust in yourself and Just Be You <3

Intro to ME!!!

Hello All!!!
As stated in my description, I love to write!  I also have a quite unique situation, but doesn't everybody?  In this blog, I am going to strive to be an author that is relatable.  I am a mom of beautiful little girls, a wife to a great husband (But they all have their days lol), an actress, medical marijuana patient (of which I will get more into later on), a daughter, sister, and friend. I suffer from PTSD, chronic depression, and have a horrible anxiety disorder. Although I am finding the light at the end of my tunnel and bright times are in sight!  I am REAL!  I wear pajamas to the store occasionally...I use duct tape..a lot lol...and I run around like a chicken with my head cut off 90% of the time. I don't weigh what I should, and don't eat nearly as well as I should.  I also have a huge heart that gets me in trouble a lot. I have had issues with boundaries my entire life...BUT that's changing!  It's time to start living and being happy, and not someone elses idea of happy! I would like to gain a following of people that relate and would love to chat and bring up great ideas for articles. I'm very excited about not only helping people realize they're not alone, but for my own sanity as well.  I will leave this intro short and will be writing more in the morning when I'm more awake...lol!

Peace Out Always

MamaK