Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Tattler"s Studio-Celebration Edition-Chronically Sick and Sometimes Manic Mother

Hiya Snappers! Guess what? We hit 40,000 page views! This is a big deal to me! So in honor and celebration of my 40,000 views, I decided to share the love! We will all be getting to know two lovely ladies this week, and their blogs.  They will each be answering some "get to know me questions" for you, and then writing for you! I do hope you all enjoy this little celebration treat with me!

First up is Chronically Sick and Sometimes Manic Mother. You can find her at http://chronicallysickmanicmother.wordpress.com/ .  She is also on the following social media outlets as well;

https://www.facebook.com/ChronicallySickAndSometimesManicMother?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/CSMMother
http://instagram.com/chronicallysickmanicmother
http://www.pinterest.com/CSMMother/

Check her out!

Why did you start a blog?

I needed an outlet to relieve stress. Writing has always done that for me. I also had a friend who continually told me I needed to write, and still does. 
 
Who is your blogging inspiration?

I have always been an avid reader. I don't think I could pick one source. I read to relief stress, boredom,to satisfy curiosity and just to expand my knowledge.
 
What or who inspires you?

Basically life does. It is one of the reasons I don't write just about one subject. 
 
When you have a creative writing block, how do you get past it?

Typically I resort to reading. If I can I will go for aimless drives with my phone on talk to text and email myself my thoughts. Sometimes I go for a long walk in the woods.
 
Tell us a bit about yourself...

I always hate this question. I don't know. I am me. A wife, a mother and a friend. I have worked in a variety of places. My education is in Early Childhood Education. You would think that would help in parenting. I am just as clueless. My education was early childhood education, so my daughter at nine is way out of my depths. I have been married for fourteen years. Our relationship went from just dating to really serious when my husband was in a car accident. He was on life support and in a coma for four days. I am not really able to work, so I have been trying to find myself again the last three years.
 
Favorite vacation location is.....

This is hard. I would say some cabin in the Mountains but we have not been able to travel outside of Florida in the last like seven years. I think I am falling back in love with Florida because I am gonna say camping at Disney World. The last two years we have gone camping at Fort Wilderness and picked one park to visit. Its three or four days of just wonderful family time. Camping with my chronic pain and illness is not the same as when I was growing up. However it is still camping and it just does so much to re-center me. 
 
Favorite vice....

Coffee, and Mountain Dew.  I can't stop. I have tried. Resistance is futile. 
 
Favorite holiday...

I would have to say......Well as trite as it may be...I live for the ones my daughter enjoys so much. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and even Fourth of July. 
 
How long have you been blogging?

I think it is coming up on two years.
 
When do you have/make time to blog?

For the most part, I write while my daughter is in school. However, it is not unusual for me to write because I can't sleep. It is also not unusual to find me up in the middle of the night when I have woken up and can't get back to sleep. I try to respond to comments on my blog very quickly, so I have alerts come to my phone. I try and set aside at least one day while the kid is in school to write and one to read other blogs. 

 
What do you say to all the naysayers who make rude comments about spending so much time on something you do not get paid to do?

Money isn't everything. Yes, we could do so much more if I earned steady income. However, to me it is more important to encourage other parents dealing with chronic illnesses to re-embrace life.  They are not alone in their struggle and sometimes that is a life or death difference for someone. 
 
What bloggy dreams do you have?

The fact that one person has contacted me saying what I wrote helped them, means my bloggy dreams are already realized. 
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                 And now for the guest post you have all been waiting for!

                 Technology Does Not Always Mean Social Media

Recently my phone died. It literally just died while sitting next to my laptop. To be truthful, technology mostly baffles me. It died almost a week ago. I don't see it as all bad. It is nice to unplug once in a while. The only down side is our landline phone isn't working. This makes it impossible for my daughter's school to get ahold of me, if they need to. I let them know via email that I was not reachable by phone. I keep in contact with my friend who is also my emergency contact for the school. Mostly I have been staying home. 


Today as I was driving back from the bank I had a million things going through my head. I didn't even think. I just reached where my phone normally is. I like to voice text myself emails. Reminders to do things, thoughts that I want to include in blog posts. I started thinking about all the ways I use my phone that has nothing to do with social media.

1. Alarms- I set many alarms. So many many alarms. Medication alarms. Time to stop reading and get the kid alarms. Time to get up and get the kid to school alarms. 

2. Calendar- I have tried to keep a calendar that is not just on my phone. I have failed to do that. It is just such a habit to put it in my phone calendar. This is something I will need to fix when I get my new phone. I can't tell you how many times an event has popped up on my phone, that I have completely forgotten about. It has saved me many times. 

3. Pedometer- I walk. It is a good form of exercise. It is about the only form of exercise I have been sucessful at regularly doing. For someone with chronic illness and chronic pain that is a big freaking deal. The ocd part of my brain needs to know how far I walk. I have gotten around this so far this week by walking familiar paths. Paths I have walked previously and know how far I have walked. I have an overwhelming need to monitor my progress. If not progress than that I am at least maintaining. It is so easy to let the pain dictate my walks. I can manually add the walks I have been doing while my phone is down. It is just not the same as being able to look at it. Truthfully knowing my pace and how far I have walked helps my confidence. 

4. Goodreads- Now I know I can use goodreads on the laptop. However I try to make me time for reading while sitting in carline to pick up my daughter. Most of the time it is fifteen minutes. Sometimes I feel the need for more time so I go earlier. I log in where I stop before getting my daughter. It's part of my routine. Routine is a very important part of someone who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

5. You-tube- I know this is also available on the laptop. I use Self Hypnosis and Guided Meditation for anxiety, depression and sometimes to listen to rituals. I can use the laptop. I have been. But I really find it best to use headphones and use my phone. 

6. Weatherbug- All I can say is Barometric pressure. Weatherbug lets me know when its fluctuating and when storms are moving in. This can be invaluable information when I am out and about. I can either medicate ahead of time or head home. It also lets me know when there is lightening in the area. Living in Florida, in one of the lightening capitals of the world,its a necessary precaution. There can be not a cloud in the sky and we will have lightening. As a parent this is a great tool for me to know when it is safe for my daughter to be outside. 

7. Calculator- I am not going to lie. I use it when my daughter is doing her homework. When I want to stay on budget with grocery shopping. I don't math very well so I use the calculator a lot.

8. Camera- I do love me some instagram. However, there are so many pictures I do not post on social media. I love taking photos. Some times I take them and later I use a photo editing app(also not social media) and play around with them. Sometimes I will post the results but not always.

9. Google- If you have a kid you love google. Why do ants bite? How long do bees live? When will we see baby hawks again? What does " insert some obscure word" mean? I could go on and on and on. I am getting really tired of saying, " I don't know" or "we will look it up later."

10. Texting- I have two friends that are not on social media. The only way we talk is texting, as long distance is not fun to pay for. Sure there is email but its not as quick. 

So there it is. The invaluableness of a cell phone that has nothing to do with Social media. Well not too much anyway.



Hope you enjoyed Chronically Sick and Sometimes Manic Mother! You can visit her at her blog site by clicking the link below!
http://chronicallysickmanicmother.wordpress.com/






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