Monthly Archives: January 2022

One Game Streamers VS Variety

Streaming, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When it comes to streaming it can be extremely hard to find your “Niche”. I asked this question on twitter and the results seem to be overwhelming. Ill lay out the two sides and then at the end say what the majority had thought as well too.

One Game Streamers

Picking one game to play can have many good or bad reasons. One good reason is you can pick a game (Mind you saturation somewhat does have a factor here as well too) and You can build a community around one game and grow on this. Plus side is you gain regular viewers because they are normally seeking out a person who plays this specific type of game. They know what to expect. Keeping in mind, Whether you play a game that is over saturated or one that is under saturated you still have to put in the work and the time it takes to bring viewers to come into your stream. Playing a game like Fortnite, or Apex or Dead by Daylight, that has some of the top viewers on the directory can be hard to make your place. Unless you are a professional player/competitive player, or extremely funny, It can be hard to make a footprint there.

Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com

There is also A LOT of risk if you stick to one game. Say this game is new, taking off and some what popular. You play this game every single day. And one day the it flops. Whether the fan base disappears, The developers pull the plug (Which we all know too well on games and companies in the gaming space) and now what? Do you try a brand new game? Stick this out til its gone? Find a similar like game to start playing? It really depends. You have to also ask yourself this “Have I built this community big enough and been personal enough with them that they will watch me play anything?”. If the answer is yes normally you can switch games easily because folks aren’t there to watch game play, they are there to see YOU. And that is just a bonus if they like the game.

Variety Streamers

Now you have the flip side of this, Variety streamers. These streamers play any game they want and aren’t limited to anything other then what they want to play. Again, they have pros and cons. A pro would be you wont get bored of games. When you do get bored you just flip to a different game and play that. Mind you variety can be great if a game you frequent is not that great and you just switch games. Though building a community could be extremely hard for the simple fact that you are always changing games. And changing games so differently like going from a Battle Royale, to a Team game, Then you flip to an Indie game and a simulator game it can be quite challenging. Though you might pick up a follower or two while doing this you have to really drive home who YOU ARE personality wise to keep that viewer coming back.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Being a variety streamer in my opinion means having to really lay on who you are. Connect with your viewers on a personal level. I’m not saying go out and spill your entire life story or social insurance numbers. For example, I share A LOT with my stream, But I also don’t share a lot either. Like what the name of my BF is, Or my family names for example. But we talk about life and issues that happen to be happening in my life as well as my viewers as well too. I think this makes people want to come back due to being able to relate to you as well. Finding the balance between disclosing certain information and not disclosing others can be really tricky. Give it time though and patience with yourself and you will find the right balance for your stream too!

Genre Streamers

These are streamers who stick to one genre and only one. Which I would also consider a type of variety. These people stick to team games, MMOs, battle royales, simulators, really anything from horror to indie games too. They play something similar enough that people enjoy their content and will watch normally since the games aren’t that drastically different. A lot of people dabble in this version of Variety and it seems to be a successful one for them as well too.

As you can see there really is a lot to streaming, Especially the type of content that you want to put out as well too. Personally, I stream variety. HOWEVER I would say I do main the game Dead By Daylight which will again change if you have been following my stream, now in 2022 I am primarily focusing on arts and crafting as streams. I will play games like Overwatch, Stardew Valley, as well as simulators and random games here and there. Making a switch in games can be really hard and challenging however if you let your viewers know and plan plan plan like I have with my main game of DBD to Arts and Crafts it can be more forgiving than just giving it a go blindly.

Now on to what twitter says. They have basically agreed across the board that Variety OR genre streaming is the best way to go. A lot of people even made the comments that they could not see themselves playing a single game for a long period of time as they would probably be extremely bored from this. Which can be extremely taxing especially if the game is going south or has a bunch of bugs suddenly. Twitter seems to agree that having multiple games or at least a few that are rotated around them makes the streaming experience easier because when you are bored with a game the whole stream feels it as well.

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

I think regardless of your choice, A streamer should always remember that whether you play a bunch of game or just one there is a lot of behind the scenes things that need to be done. As was mentioned in previous blogs, There really is so much to do. It is not enough to just turn on the going live button and hoping for the best. And whether you decide to play just one game for years you are always able to change up your style if you feel that it is needed. The streaming world is constantly changing, therefore we need to adapt and change things where we see fit! And there is no magic formula for streaming. Just have fun and play what you want to ultimately!

My Writing Goals For 2022

Life, , , , , , ,

There is no surprise that to some extent I do enjoy writing. If I didn’t you would think I wouldn’t be writing this now or continuing the blog for as long as I have been. Though I know some people are leaps and bounds over where I am at for the amount of time I am working on getting this to become a source of revenue for my family even if it only is a little bit per month. This is where I talk about my writing goals for the new year! And hopefully I hit them too!

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

As far as the blog goes, I am going to be publishing another regular blog this year. So far I have blogs released on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I will be adding a 3rd blog on Thursdays which will be more focused on Mental Health, Weight loss, Physical and spiritual health too. I want to do this because it will be holding me accountable. I will be pretty open about things I may or may not be struggling with. The previous blogs I tend to write about what I am feeling, goofy things, updates, parenting, life, whatever comes to my mind. They are normally pre-written and then I schedule them for the month so I dont have to think about them. I just let them happen and continue to write more for the next month and so on. Thursdays will be written typically on Wednesdays so that they are the most recent snap shot of how I am feeling and my life. I am excited to start this as I did something in 2021 called Weight Loss Wednesdays however I stopped part way through when I found out I was pregnant and was no longer focusing on weight loss due to well, having a baby! It is no surprise either that I have struggled with weight loss and what not as you can read here in one of my most popular blogs too. I am excited to bring you all along on this journey and I really hope that you are able to join in too and maybe motivate myself or vice versa too!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Secondly, I would like to really set some structure for myself and write a book or two in the process of the year. I have so many ideas and half written stories floating in notebooks around my house that I really want to make a schedule and set time aside to be able to write short stories, poetry, or whatever else I think could be potential for income. I know writing a book has a lot to it. Even as far as setting time aside can be challenging. Believe me, as a mom of 2 under 2 I completely understand this. I would really like to at least have things ready for editing by mid year and launch books by the end of the year to have published. I think it would be a great way for me to maybe have passive income and promote myself some what also too.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!

Growing up, and in school I always was a fan of English. I may not have been the greatest but writing stories or using my imagination was a huge point for my life. I loved every moment of it. Becoming an author or at least writing stories was something that occasionally had crossed my mind through the years but it never was something that I really wanted to actively pursue until i was older and now have a family. I feel like for me to be able to this I need to really be disciplined because you really are your own boss. I know for myself being my own motivator can be very challenging and I know it can be tough but I really want to do this to provide some sort of income for my family. I know also that I talk about money a lot because becoming a mom or moving away from home and leaving a job I had behind is something that I do miss. I feel like I have a tiny empty space I need to fill and that is some financial independence to be able to help my family out!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I will be setting up a solid schedule for how I will be doing my work from home and linking it here once I am done writing it or it publishes. If you are reading this and the link is not there it will be! Dont worry about that. I figure if I want to work from home I need to think about a schedule as if I was actually working a job. Though it will not be conventional due to the fact that I do have kids and well, a 9-5 job with a toddler and a new baby is not exactly going to happen right now anyways! I have faith that if I really put my mind to this and manifest some sort of mind strength I will be able to do this for not only my family but myself. I also need to remind myself that Rome was not built in a day and this will be a long term goal. I wont be pumping out novels like Stephen King anytime soon but I know I can start slow and build up to that pace too! Not to mention, the reward for checking this off as something I would like to accomplish in my lifetime would be such a huge goal that I could not be happier in the process either! I cannot wait to make sure I have all of my notes and half written story ideas in one place. I want to try to have some sort of plan on paper before I write, You guys know me and how obsessed I am with notebooks and writing!

What is something that you want to do in your lifetime?
And what are you doing to try to get yourself to that point too?

Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear your new dreams and goals too!

Drastic Times – Self Care Thursday 4 – January 27th

Self Care Thursday's, , , , , , , , , , ,

(This post contains some affiliate links, This is to help a kick back to the blog financially by simply shopping as you normally do. If you choose to support the blog by this way, thank you, your support is greatly appreciated!)

I still am totally failing at this whole weight loss journey and I have no one to blame but myself here! And that is okay. I can do this even if the beginning looks tough. Here is my week that I am very thankful to be behind me.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com


First, No more smoking weed unless it is on Saturday or Sunday. That is all. Obviously I cannot control myself and when I smoke and it spills into the week it causes so much damage. Not just because of my lungs (Which I am indifferent about I know.. ) but because I over eat. When I over eat junk and garbage I end up now losing sleep. Why you ask, because I have heartburn and a weird stomach and what not from disgusting that garbage. You my be thinking it cant be that bad. You are wrong! I can eat chips bowl after bowl, i can eat chocolate bar after bar, ice cream, soda, and whatever else I see in the house. I need to develop healthy habits again and plan out things. I also need to set a rule for myself that I not have any food after 7pm. I am such a night muncher that I am hoping that by focusing on my new endeavor for books that I feel like that will be a help for me to avoid over smoking as well as over eating.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.


I have also decided to STOP counting calories. I am 32 years old and have counted calories for the past 12 years. I have always thought it helped me in terms of trying to lose weight. I could see how much I over eat by etc. That ends now. I will be loosely and I say that with confidence, keeping track of what I eat in terms of food. I know the calories in what I am eating and by counting them daily when I know I am way over is doing absolutely nothing to my mental health. If I over eat I know that I over eat. Instead I will be weighing myself daily first thing in the morning. I know this can also become an obsessive category BUT I do need some sort of reminder that I am on the right track. This is the new reminder.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.


Overall I would say that I am feeling hopeful about this. I know you probably are tired of reading it every single week because I am always writing this however I feel good about it. Workouts are kind of on the back burner right now. But I am looking very forward to warmer weather so I can take my boys on daily walks around the neighborhood though., I will make this a goal for myself daily and if my boyfriend wants to go we can also do that like we used to in our previous home too.

One of my favorite items to use to workout and get the heart pumping is a skipping rope. Pair this with hand weights for a mini workout when you are a bit crunched for time!

One of my biggest problems is that I am always pushing too much to fast on myself. Losing weight is something I have struggled with my entire life. It will not change drastically over night nor will it be healthy. I have lost weight before though and went right back to gaining some because I totally forgot I need to monitor portions and I need to work out and I need to not reset to old habits.

Photo by Andres Ayrton on Pexels.com


Not that I want to put blame but maybe this whole Covid stuff also has been getting to me also. Living in basically the hot spot in Canada for a long time and having so little interactions, to now living at home and still with a rise in cases having trouble too. It really is hard for me to not put blame and I need to channel the sadness I sometimes feel and turn it into something that is productive, like losing weight!

One shake that I found to actually fill me up is slim fast shakes, they are a great meal replacement with a sweet kick added too. When I am needed an added bonus for energy I tend to reach for these Nuun energy tablets.


Here is hoping to reaching my 10lb goal of losing weight for February! I can do this.

Formula Feeding for New Moms

Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

Having a child, for the first time can be something that you are questioning everything about. There are so many different topics that you need to discuss along the way that it can be over whelming to say the last. One of the hardest things you need to decide on is how are you going to feed your new baby. After all, they only do about 3 things for the first few weeks. That being Eat, Sleep, and Poop.

Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com

Deciding how you are going to feed your baby is challenging even if you have thought about this many times before. I know for me I was kind of dead set on trying to breast feed my son however in the beginning that was quickly done when I found it far too stressful. I was panicked and worried if my son was actually drinking enough, if I was doing it right. I never really researched it and what I did it seemed to make it look super easy. It is not. It is not as easy as some moms and movies make it look. Breastfeeding is work and it is hard. Not to mention not every baby can pick it up that quickly.

I have also written a blog here about how to normalize formula feeding if you are interested in reading it here. Today is seems so taboo to formula feed because now women who breast feed sometimes snub people who do not. For me, it made me feel ashamed when I choose to switch to formula even after my son was a few days old. We started breast feeding in the hospital. The nurses even give a bit of pressure for you to breast feed because of whatever reason too. Myself and a friend of mine who had given birth a few months before had also thought the same thing when she was there with her son. We were in there for 2 nights and then we went home for one night, and had to come back so my son could be under the lights to tan due to jaundice. Being there the whole time alone because my partner had to go home in the evenings to be with our pets so they wouldn’t go completely insane was hard. When you have a new baby you are legit feeding them every 3 or so hours. Their tiny bellies are so small that they honesty cannot take a whole lot of milk at once. After running on such little sleep because remember, when you breast feed, you are the only one who can do it. Unless you pump and save milk which in the hospital we never really did either. You are doing it solo. When we arrived home I still was stressed out he was not eating that I just said I was done. I wanted us to formula feed which I think my spouse also felt good about because he was also able to help. He could warm bottles, give him one and or I could also. We were no longer tied to just me feeding him. It relieved a lot of stress.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Now as I write this, pregnant with our second son (Which I gave birth to in November, I just schedule blogs ahead for planning!). We have decided to just go right to formula. We think this is again the great choice due to the fact that my partner will not be taking parental until the spring time and he will be able to either take a late night feeding or an early morning feeding before he goes to work so I can get a little bit more sleep. Instead of just me getting up every 3 hours feeding our newest little fella he can take turns with me as well. I feel like there is a relief for me knowing when this baby is born that I will be not fussing and fighting with myself and we will just be going right to formula feeding. There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting with formula feeding even though the media or friends may make you feel that way now.

So where to begin? That is the question. Here are a few things you need to purchase to start:
– Bottles
– Bottle Warmer
– Formula (Powder, Liquid, Concentrate)
– Sanitizer (Personal Preference)

When we had our son we had friends who had given us a bunch of bottles. We used the obviously very small ones to start which were about 4 ounces sometimes 5 and we worked with those. Once our son grew we had to buy larger ones where they were a max of 9 ounces since he was no longer drinking so frequently but drinking more each time. Bottles are all a personal preference on what type you want. However remember, at some point they will also need different nipples based on the flow. I did not know you needed to change nipples for a while so we were a little behind on that!

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

A bottle warmer comes in handy because they say that in the microwave it does not evenly heat up the bottles where you can have really hot spots as apposed to the entire thing being warm. Find a warmer that you like though in the beginning you could just use a cup of hot water and then putting the bottle in that as it warms up as well too. His is because you again are only making a few ounces at a time and it will take no time at all to warm up. We only used a cheap 20$ one before and got the same brand but a slightly better model this time. It can take a bit to get the hang of it and how much water you put in for steam and what not but it really is convenient.

Next is formula. Going to the hospital we made sure to have the premade formula where you just buy the nipples and can give them to the baby. This is debatable since a few people online said the hospital provided formula while others said they did not. We got it just in case. Since it is not the brand we will be using we still got it none the less so that way we didn’t look bad when we got there if we had none. There is also some debate that people are not supposed to use powder with newborns for a few months. We used powder formula right off the bat and it was completely fine with our first son. No issues. Once we arrive back home we will also be doing the same things as well too. Also remember, Name brand is not always better. We started with Similac for our son which made him constipated. We switched to the Walmart brand on recommendations from friends and he did just fine on that not to mention it was 10-15$ cheaper as well too. As far as where we live in Canada, standards for formula are pretty standard so we were not really worried about which is better over another one.

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

Lastly a sanitizer, I know people who did not use this at all. Some people say that they only sanitize the bottles the first few times than they just use soap and water with it. Others have said that they do it every time. We do it every night to the bottles after they are washed however after your young one can start to bring things to their mouth or put their hands around we kind of stopped due to the fact it didn’t really make sense anymore if they were already putting things in their mouth. It really takes no time at all and we used a tray you put with water in the microwave that you can sanitize them relatively quickly.

Which ever formula you choose remember that you are not alone in this. Again, I talk about my struggles and how I think formula feeding should be normalized again here. And whichever brand you choose, follow the instructions! They say not to use boiling water however we always boiled the water and let it cool before mixing formula. It really helps even though the can said you could just mix it with water. Most cans also come with a specific scoop to use when mixing per so many ounces. If you don`t follow this it could result in constipation or your baby not getting the full nutrients.

Did you jump right into Formula feeding with your child?
Did you feel the stigma when you announced you were skipping breast feeding and going right to formula?

Let me know in the comments below, I’m sure there are a lot of people who feel the same way also too!

Saving Money Goals for 2022

Life, , , , , , ,

If comes as no surprise that I am trying to be transparent about what it is like to want to be a stay at home mom while also making some sort of income. I have written about it in multiple places in the past. I want to show that it is possible and it is challenging to build something to be able to have the little extras while taking care of your little ones. This is my plans for making money in 2022. And hopefully making a steady and reliable income in the process!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

1st of all I am sure you have noticed by now, if you are a regular reader or maybe just stumbled upon this page recently, I have added a Ko-Fi link paragraph to all blogs in 2022 and a few popular blogs from before. I feel like I need to put value into myself as a blogger and this is my way to monetize or begin to monetize this. I have been blogging for over 2 years, this being the 3rd year and this is my way to give readers an option to support financially if they wish to do so. It will never be forced or an expectation but I figure I need to take my shot and I need to give people the option. For the longest times I thought that I was too small or not enough value to put something like that. Not anymore! In 2022 my goal is to put out content on the blog 3x per week as well as maybe a few uncensored ones up for folks who may want them through my mailing list or Ko-Fi.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

I also am beginning to receive an extra benefit for having 2 children. This is quite a huge change for me and I couldn’t be more relieved. It will be a huge help for me to begin to feel some what able to contribute back to the family. Since stopping work and staying at home sometimes I feel lost. I missing having some financial independence or having a pay check.

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

One of the major things that I need to do this year is really get into the habit of keeping track of the money that I recieve and the money that I spend. I used to be so good at keeping a budget book that I meed to bring it back. I need to make sure that I know where and how money is going and coming into my account. This will be also a huge step into my mental health too.

Places that I hope to have income coming in are as follows:

Streaming – I will be starting to stream regularly at least 2 days per week which will be Mondays and Fridays. My goal ideally is to have a regular 10-25 Subscribers. Or even some tips in the process. As much as I do not like Twitch taking 50% of my earnings I like that my viewers can receive some cool things like emotes.

Crafting and Artwork – This is my new business that I launched just this month! I do not want to set a goal of how much money to make because that can vary but I do hope that I will be able to start building some customers or growth on pages to bring in new people and make my brand big. One if the hardest parts is for me to make my pages active and build them up also.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Blog – adding the Ko-Fi link is one way for me to try and gain some extra finances. Another is eventually, before the end of the year, I would like to sign up for amazon affiliates. So I can do posts with different promotions and have a kick back in terms of promoting a product and if others buy such product I get that extra income. This makes me a lot more nervous because I feel like I am very small but I hope that by the end of the year I am in a place where I am confident and sign up for this option!

Books – one of my goals by the end of the year is to have a few books written. I have so many ideas that I want to really discipline my self and push myself to do one of these goals. That being said I put it last because if I don’t actually publish it by the end I would be okay with that. I just need to write them to begin with. That is one of the hardest things I think for me to do is to physically write it. I have notes and little story ideas in a notebook that I need to just schedule time and make sure that I am able to write.

Photo by maitree rimthong on Pexels.com


Overall, I don’t want to make some plan on how much per month because I think that can be super unrealistic considering a lot is depending on other people. I do want to show others and hopefully convey that I do believe I am worth some thing for the type of content that I produce. But I also want to work at building my crafting and things too since that can be more reliable due to selling products if that makes sense. If by the end of the year though I can be making somewhere from $250.00-$500.00 extra per month by doing things I think that would be extremely incredible though. And I don’t mean specifically from one avenue of income, but across the ways to make money if that were the take home I would be pumped.

Do you work from home?
If so what do you do for an income, and did you start it on your own also?

Let me know the creative ways you help bring another income to your family while staying at home! I would love to read your comments below!

The Cycle -Self Care Thursday 3 – January 20th

Life, , , , , , , , ,

As anyone who is trying to lose weight knows, it is very easy to get into a cycle that is not only toxic to themselves but borderline self harm.

I am in one of those cycles right now.

Photo by Olya Kobruseva on Pexels.com

My cycle that I have been open about for years based on previous blogs is this. I wake up. I do so well all day. Not over eating not binging on junk excessively. To the point I also keep extremely well calorie notes also normally get my workout in also. Stuff like That. One would think this would be setting myself up for a successful day. It doesn’t. Once night hits and my 1st son is asleep and my second is settling foe the night I then think how great it would be to smoke some weed. I normally roll half a gram, and then I get a good buzz. I wouldn’t say I get super high or anything due to the fact that I have been smoking it for so long. And what happens next? I throw away every single thing that I worked hard to do all day when I start to munch uncontrollably.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

Workouts have been semi consistent. I have still been doing my workout Dvd’s. Eventually I will bring the Elliptical back in a few days a week however with one son really only napping and my youngest sometimes being awake during when I would workout it really can be quite challenging. Workout dvds are about 30-40 minutes which is a great start for me considering I don’t do basically anything for exercise unless you are counting when I do house work or chasing my eldest son around!

Photo by Andres Ayrton on Pexels.com

Munching has it’s better days. Did not follow my own rule of not smoking though. Which I really need to since I again am self sabotaging myself majorly. I know exactly what I am doing but in the moment I am only thinking about junk and not what happens a few hours later when I feel like crap. Over night I feel icky when my stomach is gross. Next day I hate myself for doing it yet again. But at the end of the day I know I can stop smoking. Ive done it 2x for pregnancy. However with isolation and staying home as much as possible it is my glass of wine at the end of the day. I need to implement healthy habits when I smoke so that I am not feeling like absolute shit for myself.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

There is this cycle that I have that I need to break. I need to stop self sabotaging. Here is some concrete goals though. Let’s make them now.

  • By the end of Feb 2022 I would like to be under 235lbs. As of today I weight 245.6lbs. That is 10lbs. Not totally unrealistic and totally doable.
  • Smoke less weed. Self sabotage is real and if I cant control binging I need to stop what is causing me to do it.
  • Do some sort of workout a minimum of 4 days per week.


I can do this.

Why I Don’t Believe In Birth Plans

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , ,

I have a feeling before I even write this post that I may not be the only one who is of this same mindset. I feel like there are people who probably plan every last little detail and than you have the total flip side of people who do not plan a single thing out. And then some people to finish off the list who probably think about a birth plan but it never really goes that far it only goes as far as thoughts or talking it over with their partner. I am someone who kind of talked about it with my spouse however there was never really any plans in terms of the “fine details”.

Photo by lucas mendes on Pexels.com

If you have been reading all along and you still are not sure what exactly a birth plan is I am here to tell you. A birth plan is just that. It is some thing you put into place for when you have a baby. Maybe a wish list of sorts. Perhaps if you have a c section you want to be asleep. Or maybe you know want the gas and no epidural. Maybe you want to save cord blood once the baby is born or you want to have an epidural. There is so many possibilities when it comes to having a birth plan from physical aids to even mental aids or the atmosphere you want too. Maybe you would like to do a water birth or you want to try different positions also. It really can depend on the person as they can be so drastically different from one birth to the next. Maybe you are a parent of multiple children and you had done something with your 1st birth that you would like changed with your 2nd or maybe you liked the way it went so you want to keep a very similar birth plan throughout different pregnancy’s.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!

For my first child. I can’t say I really had a birth plan. You can read the lack there of in the blog post about that here. I basically went into the birth open minded in the sense that I wanted to not be a hero. If I needed to have medications to aid the process along I was going to take them. However spoiler alert: I was never given the chance to have an epidural with my 1st son. Everything happened so quickly that even looking back on what happened I think I was so filled with adrenaline that even if I had a birth plan.. It probably would have gone right out the window!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

My second child I still went into the birth in the same mindset. Again if you want to read the details you can check out the blog post I wrote about that birth here. Another spoiler alert: It was basically the exact opposite of my 1st birth. But I did go into it that I would not be a hero and if my body ached and I needed an epidural I was taking it. I did not want to hold off on aids to help me be comfortable if I had too much pride. That was not where I was going. If I could be more comfortable during labour I wanted to for sure take that route with number 2.

I personally can say I don’t believe in birth plans. Why is this? I strongly believe that the more you plan something out the greater chance it has to completely go hay wire and wacky. If you plan every single detail that is more and more opportunity for it to go wrong. What if you would like dimmed lights, but the room you are in does not have that opportunity. Maybe you are dead set on all natural birth but at the end of the day the pain was far greater than you ever imagined and an epidural changed your whole experience from a negative to a positive? There is so many what if’s that if you plan every single thing out you are taking a risk to be let down.

Photo by BARBARA RIBEIRO on Pexels.com

If I was to pick anything in terms of a “birth” plan for myself the only things I can think of is number 1. A private room. This was something that my partner specifically paid for through insurance. If you paid whatever extra per month you could ensure this happens. Obviously it also depends heavily on the hospital and if it was available which lucky for us was. A big part of our not planned birth plan was going with the flow. I wanted to go into the births open minded. As I mentioned multiple times before, I was not going to be a hero. If I needed drugs or medical interventions like an epidural I was going to take it. I did not want to not take it and hope I can power through the pain. Not that I think child birth is a bad experience but I was not going to suffer for pride or for bragging rights either. You can see how having no birth plans in either of my births probably helped things go with the flow.

I understand that there is some people in the world that would like to be in complete control of how things go. That is okay for them. Giving birth is one of the most special things a person can go through. You are literally bringing another human into this life. Though it is important to point out the more specific the plans the more opportunity it has to backfire and have something happen that is out of the plan.

I will also state too, even the best and thought out plans can still have surprises. Never did I ever expect to be here saying I had a c section for my 2nd child but here we are. And we had no idea he had turned and was breech until we were actually in labour and they checked on an ultrasound!

Did you decide to have a birth plan, and did it turn out the way you expected?

What NOT to do Streaming, According to Streamers

Streaming, , , , , , ,

Before I begin, Id like to say that some of these topics are from people on twitter and their names are omitted just in case they did not want to be part of this but wanted their 2 cents to be added in. I will be sharing my views on them as well since chances are Ive probably encountered them as well too!

1) FOLLOW FOR FOLLOW WILL NOT HELP YOU GROW
The only time that I have ever seen this being MAYBE okay is when someone is nearing 50 followers.
“But Stacey, It does totally work you know”
No. It doesn’t. When I first started streaming I was in a community that was just this. The main person would go live and they allowed  people to legit follow for follow folks regularly in their chat. Sure this sounds great in theory BUT here is how it doesn’t.
For example: Say I’m in this chat for a few hours when said main person is live. Say I do this a few times during the week and one week I follow between 250-300 new people. And say those same people follow me back. GREAT! Right, Now I have an extra number of followers. Its starting to look like I have a handle on this streaming thing! WRONG! You need to ask yourself #1, How the heck am I supposed to support 250-300 people and make myself seen by them in there chats enough to be impactful and them wanting to actually visit my streams. #2, How are these people supposed to come to my streams if they also followed the same amount of people? They don’t. All that follow for follows does is inflate your follower number and then when you have about 4000 followers and average maybe 3 viewers they wonder why this is the case when there was never actually ANY real connection for people to want to enjoy your content.
++ THIS INCLUDES THOSE TWEETS LIKE:
” Lets grow together,
1. Follow me
2. Post your link
3. Follow everyone back.
4. SUPPORT FOR SUPPORT”

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels.com

This does NOT work either.
The only thing this is actually doing on twitter for example, is inflating the amount of impressions that a tweet is getting. The chances of that person who first posted the tweet for interactions will never be checking out your stream, however will be reaping the benefits of so many people seeing their post and following them blindly.

2) When using twitter, Stop using TOO many hashtags
Contrary to what people may think. Twitter is not Instagram. Instagram is designed for hashtags. You fill you’re posts up with as many as you possibly can. That’s the goal after all. Twitter? Not the same. According to the majority of people as well as some algorithms anything over 3 hashtags will slowly but surely hide your tweets. It also depends on the context of your hashtags. If you are using #SupportSmallStreamers or tags along those lines it a) Makes you look like you are stuck in that mentality of only being a small streamer (Don’t worry, I also was stuck in this mind set as well too) and b) If someone has this hashtag muted/blocked (Maybe the tag made their home page super cloudy and they were no longer seeing tweets that they were interested in) Then your tweets are hidden and thus limiting who potentially sees your tweets. Using hashtags based on the games you play ie: #Fortnite, #BR, #Dbd, etc and or Tagging a profile of the game you play work a hell of a lot better then using random ones in there. Remember to try to change it up and if you have to research which tags are popular for games you play do it! If you only ever use the same tags you will still be reaching the same amount of people and you want to be reaching new people as well too! Also, STOP using irrelevant tags. If you are playing Fortnite, Dont use tags for different BR’s or popular games. ie: #Fortnite #Overwatch #EscapeFromTarkov .. It makes you look silly and that you don’t know how hashtags work. It can also be seen as false advertising when you want to promote 25 other games which you are playing one of its competitors.  If you use too many hashtags to the point that people have to ask themselves while looking at your tweet “I wonder which game they are actually playing” Then it might be time to clean up your tags.

3) Support for support is overrated
From a Tweeter: “Support support and support was the advice given and I did that for almost 4 straight months when I was unemployed and people supported me back. Then I got a job and couldn’t support as much and everyone stopped helping me so ya support is way over rated.”

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!


These types of communities can be extremely difficult to be successful. The fact is unless you are giving a whole lot of support, You will not get much back. People want to do something when they get something in return. This is why all these “Point” communities and “Lurk” communities are super unsuccessful. When twitch changed the algorithm to prevent this from happening people were no longer getting the gratification they felt they needed from this. The short of this, Support who YOU want to support. Don’t support because you expect anything from the streamer or in return. If you enjoy someones content then just support! And you never know what will come back in the process. Streaming is a very difficult career to get into. You will be doing a lot of live hours for little to no justification in the beginning, and especially if you are not working on other socials and are only clicking the go live button.

4) You don’t need to be oozing positivity to be successful
From a Tweeter: “A positive attitude everyone always talks about how you have to stay positive and how positive attitude makes all the difference. The truth is it doesn’t. Yeah you can’t be mopey while you’re live on stream But Being positive itself doesn’t make a difference”
This is completely relatable. Sure having positive vibes is great. But if you are only projecting this type of mentality and people sense that it is fake they wont stick around. It is a great attitude to have being positive by everything that is for sure true, BUT if you have no weird/wacky/sad times people will think that it is just a show and a facade. Positivity is great, But so is being real too. I actually have an entire blog post written about Fake Positive People, If you want to check that one you are are more than welcome to read it here!

5) Being unique will make you successful
From a tweeter: “Be Unique.
Nah.. don’t worry about being unique, worry about being yourself. There will always be people out there that vibe with you. You don’t have to have a gimmick or a schtick or a special thing.”
You will not be the next Doc, Shroud, xQc or even Lirik. Don’t try to mimic someone else and their success. Be who YOU are. Whether that is thinking of a new personality, just chatting with viewers or being yourself in general. You do not need to have a “fake” personality in order to grow. Doc created his personality, Want to do the same? Do it, But don’t try to BE Doc. It will not work. You will find viewers are more genuine when you are genuine with them.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

6) Streaming more means better success
From a Tweeter: “I’m just starting to stream myself, and already I have been amazed with all the conflicting advice from pretty established #Streamers .
Worst Advice IMHO: Make your whole life about streaming.
Best Advice IMHO: Be yourself and enjoy the experience. 🙂 “
Streaming more does NOT increase your discoverability. Fact is if you are streaming 12 hour streams multiple days a week to maybe 1-4 viewers that could be time way better spent streaming more consistently, for less time, and focus on different platforms. The hardest part is to bring in new viewers from different places. Then it is completely up to you to keep them coming to your channel!

7) STOP SELF PROMO THIS INCLUDES VEILED PROMOS!
One of the worst things that you can do is self promote in SOMEONE else’s channel. DON’T EVER DO THIS. This includes the veiled comments like this:
– Hey, Whats up
– Oh not much here, Okay, Going to start my stream here, Have a great time!”

THIS IS STILL SELF PROMO!
Change your wording, I’m heading to get some games in, I have to run and get things done. It shows a lot more class. If you go into a stream and the streamer asks you how your streams are going or opens the door for you. Sure, talk about your streams (Modestly of course) And don’t go on about them entirely. Mention it and if the streamer keeps the conversations going do it. but don’t keep the subject. Focus on the stream that you are in, not your own. That’s what you do on your own channel!

Hopefully this is informative for anyone who might be new. I’m sure I missed a bunch but this was also based on the community when asked my twitter! If you want to be part of these keep an eye out for my poll tweets to better be able to vote and participate in future blogs!

Cleaning Goals For 2022

Life, , , , , , , , ,

It may or may not come as no surprise that I am not the best at cleaning. And what I mean by this is my home is for sure a lived in home. I can however organize and prep things so it looks fantastic. I even can clean super spick and span when I put my mind to it. However I sometimes get good momentum and than slack off majorly. Not this year. This year I am going to be trying to step up my cleaning game. After all, I am not a mom of 2 boys who no doubt will be making messes for the next 18+ years until they go off to college or they begin to limit their mess to their own bedrooms! Here are my cleaning goals for having a tip top shape home in 2022!

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

First, the major goal for me is to try and keep a semi-weekly schedule to be able to have the main level in good shape. I want to really hammer down and try my best to be able to keep the house tidy. This includes the living room, kitchen, the dining table cleared off regularly, as well as trying to keep the floors cleaned, moped, bathroom in good shape also too. Bedrooms are not overly bad to begin with but I would like to get the bedrooms in a great place in the beginning of the year through January with organizing so that way the upkeep is a lot better. I want to make kind of a schedule of things I should clean mainly weekly. Things like laundry 2x per week. bed sheets every other week, microwave every week or every other week. Things like that which we frequently use to make sure they are clean and prepped so that the little hands around wont be trying to pick things up and eat them which is totally what toddlers and babies do!

Next, I would like a deep cleaning list. This would be things that NO ONE likes to clean and you do it maybe once or twice a year but it still needs to be done. Things like clean the window ledges, clean out the cupboards, deep clean the oven or stove too. Things that typically you don’t do that often but you do it when you see things are messy. I want to really keep track of things so that way I know what is done and what needs to be done. As I sit here and thing of things I know it will be hard so I will probably use Pinterest to check out different lists and hopefully create one for myself. I am confident I can make something for myself and I can stick to it.

Photo by Jan Kopu0159iva on Pexels.com

I also think it can be a great way for me to slightly get more activity and what not since I am hoping to lose 40lbs in the year 2022. If I look at the list and do something instead of binge eating or snacking on something I really shouldn’t be doing I think it could help me in that goal also. I am very much someone that eats because they are bored and have nothing better to do. I know that is a horrible habit to get into and breaking it is even harder however by filling my down time with things I think it can help me. Some days when my first son is napping and I have gotten my second settled I can put him in the bassinet or I can even wear him with the carrier we have and tackle some of the list.

I would Ideally like to schedule cleaning days specifically however I wont be doing that so much. I will be scheduling things i would like to do in the day, but there will be no specific time frame to do things. Sometimes my sons don’t nap, sometimes one is awake, For me to try to schedule something while they are both preoccupied while I clean is not really do-able. Maybe laundry I can wing it and flip it when I need to but in terms of cleaning there is only so many times per day I can really do that. If all else fails I will do the bulk of it at night when I know that my first will be for sure sleeping though!

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

I know that I have the skill set to be a great cleaner and organizer in my home it is just putting my mind to it. I really need to embrace the stay at home mom role and make sure things are tidy. Which I know is impossible with 2 kids but I really would like to try my best to keep a home that is basically spotless. Or in the very least not what it is now. I also feel like the hardest challenge for this, for me anyways, would be to start. I feel like if I start to get things in a great place I would be able to motivate myself to keep up on my list naturally trying to keep the same level the whole time. Most times the challenge that I have with cleaning is I let it get bad and I don’t have motivation to keep it going. Or just starting it in general.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

In terms of tracking this I will also be writing it down on a pad of paper. I have a few different colors so I will be writing the weeks down starting with Sundays and hopefully be checking off different things that I do. Than at the end of the year I will be honest and open with you guys and share it with you. I would have already started it by the time this has published, you know since I write things ahead of time. However I will adding my photos of the list in the February Update Blog. I think by then I should have most of everything filled out and I should be able to show what I picked out for the nitty gritty things to tackle.

Have you struggled with cleaning before or are you a neat person?
What would your tips be for someone like me looking to really get organized?

Let me know, I would love to read any of your tips in the comments below!

I self sabotaged myself to fail – Self Care Thursday 2 – January 13th/2022

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

(This post contains some affiliate links, This is to help a kick back to the blog financially by simply shopping as you normally do. If you choose to support the blog by this way, thank you, your support is greatly appreciated!)

As I write this I am going to begin with this.
I set myself to fail the 1st week of my diet every, single, year!

Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com

And here is why.

My birthday is January 8th. As you can tell if you are familiar with the blog due to the fact I posted this past weekend my 32nd birthday reflection. Every single year I always say I will go hard and really be mindful of what I eat even though I know as a fact that eventually I will be eating junk food and candy or sweets a day or two (or three) around my birthday. And, as much as I do not want it to effect me it completely is. Even though it happens every single year.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

Realistically I should be starting weight loss plans for after the 8th due to the fact I know I will have Cake and treats and basically lose nothing or gain a few lbs in the process. So now that it is behind me let’s get this going.

One shake that I found to actually fill me up is slim fast shakes, they are a great meal replacement with a sweet kick added too. When I am needed an added bonus for energy I tend to reach for these Nuun energy tablets.

Exercise is slowly going. I decided to pause the daily elliptical workout and start with some workout dvd’s. I think this is a better way to start with some exercise instead of going downstairs to workout. Plus, dvd’s are easier to put in upstairs while my oldest has his nap time/quiet time. They are only 30 minutes or so which is slightly less than the typical 40 minutes however Id like to start with the elliptical randomly though. And since this week is the week my boyfriend in fact goes back to work I thought this would be a good way to start somewhere. My goal is to do the workout between 4-5 days per week. Right now I am doing my Zumba dvd but I do have a few others that I can switch to when I get tired of it. I had worked out with it on Monday and Yesterday (Wednesday).

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Weed. I know and you know that a major component of my own self sabotage is I can do really well all day on not over eating only to over eat at night. Case in point is the last 2 night’s I majorly over ate after 7pm because I got high. So I am making myself a promise. No more weed until I am under 235lbs. However long it takes. After that I will not be smoking til I lose another 10lbs so 225lbs. Hopefully by that time I will be able to control my snacking better and can introduce more puffing when that happens. I am my own worst enemy. We shall see if I break it tonight on the first night I planned this..

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Overall mentally I am okay. My only problem is I obviously am being a bit harsh on myself because of my over eating. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to losing weight. But It is some thing I need to work through. My relationship with food is completely unhealthy not even talking about my extremely picky food habits either. I tell myself that the day is done which is true but I know myself as I write this after a night of binge eating which I blame on weed (I am sure many other factors are also there) and I will be thinking about it all day.

One of my favorite items to use to workout and get the heart pumping is a skipping rope. Pair this with hand weights for a mini workout when you are a bit crunched for time!

As far as keeping track in my agenda that has mot been going well. I need to also tell myself at the end of every day I need to write down what I am eating. Even if it is not exact in calories I need to write what I am eating even if only by names.  I think that would be a great idea.

And here to finish is my weight this AM: 247.0 (Down 1.4lbs or so)