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sacredarts-blog1 · 5 years

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi everyone, sorry for disappearing for almost a week. ~ Stuff ~ happened. Anyways, I'll get to as many readings as I can now, I have about 29. I'll answer the past life ones first, and then energy ones.

Also, I'd like to announce some upcoming IMPORTANT changes + HIATUS ANNOUNCEMENT (lmao sorry, a g a i n). Click to Read More...

So, as some of you know, I returned to this blog for two main purposes: 1. Explore, understand and strengthen my skills. 2. Becoming part of the community on here, sharing ideas and information with you all. Helping each other.

Both of these also have two reasons BEHIND them. 1. Earn a bit of money as part of an actual service to people. 2. Develop a support group of like-minded individuals.

I also described how the underlying reason I used to stop-and-start in the past with regard to psychic/tarot/spirituality stuff was out of my fear of evil or something. That wasn't a lie, but over the course of the last two weeks or so, I've done a lot of personal self-development stuff, and I realized that I know EXACTLY what Evil is, and that what I ACTUALLY want to do is explore FEAR ITSELF.

If you're still readings this, I'd like to take a moment to tell you WHY it's relevant and important with how I want to help people.

It's probably no secret on here that I'm a person who is going through something huge behind the scenes. I can say that I am NOT the same person I was when I started this blog, and so I need to take some time out to think about the future of this blog and what it is I want to do. Because I'll be honest, this blog blew the fuck up out of nowhere, and I feel a certain amount of pressure and other people's expectations. The format of this blog is the same as what everyone is used to when it comes to divination blogs, but it is not necessarily what I want to do. I want to do things differently from everyone else and to completely stand out, but I haven't figured out how yet.

In my personal life, I've discovered that how I REALLY want to help people has to do with facing fears, understanding phobias and overcoming weaknesses, as my main focus. It's extremely important to me and something I believe people really need help with. Because I realized that it is fears and insecurities that really stop people from living fully, achieving their deepest dreams, from getting out of repetitive life patterns, abusive relationships, manipulation, anxiety/depression, self-doubt, and false belief systems (including cults).

I DO NOT see myself as a guide, leader or teacher in any other way but this. I DO NOT believe in handing people answers, but rather helping them find answers within themselves - to help people take their power (or soul) back.

I cannot consciously control my abilities anyway - they're more like waves - nor have I ever been comfortable with using them in this manner, even for friends. I hate the idea of people looking up to me as an expert, because the truth is, I don't even know how my abilities work. I have too many questions and not enough answers. I don't know any more about this than any one of you do, honestly.

But the most important thing I want to say to everyone is that I am extremely dedicated to truth. I genuinely care about people, in the end, and the last thing I want to do is mislead them or disappoint them in any way. I know this is technically (and legally lmao) an "entertainment" service, but I also know that many people DO genuinely believe in it and take it seriously, and that it affects people's thoughts and feelings. I don't want to take responsibility for that. I have to be sure that I am doing the right thing for people.

I've experienced some legitimately paranormal phenomenon, and I have enough proof to suspect that there is something "different" about me which I'm not gonna get into. But I base everything on what I know can be proven, not on beliefs or assumptions. But, I've literally seen objects flying around in mid-air and I have been able to prove it. I have dreamed things before they happened exactly in reality. And there's more. But the fact that I can't get readings accurate 100% of the time does make me doubt, since I don't know why that shit happens. It seems like a hit and miss a lot of the time and I need to study this more because it's super frustrating and confusing to me. But until I understand it, I do not feel comfortable doing readings. I don't wanna be vague or general anymore with this, and I have these high standards for myself because I know about the psychology of the Forer Effect, rainbow ruse, confirmation bias, transcendental temptation etc. I want to be legitimate because that's what everyone deserves. I don't actually want to comfort people or let them interpret readings in their own way, I want to give truth and facts... To be ~spooky~ as it were, because I know I've done it before. And I want to find out if that is even possible because it's really fascinating.

But I digress.

What I'm saying is basically, I need some time out for personal reasons (because I have a shitton of things to do in real life hhsfshgssg) but I also want to decide if I'm going to use this blog literally for entertainment OR to actually seriously help people.

Because at the moment I don't actually enjoy doing readings, if I'm being honest, and I still haven't been able to understand how to control my abilities. I still want to do it, but I need to figure out a new approach. I loved doing "hot and cold" game idea a while back, and the feedback blew me away because you guys (even anons) were really consistent with coming back for feedback and also because the accuracy blew me - and you - away. It was also really easy to do, somehow. I felt something in my gut - like an obvious instinct - when I did those readings. I know I tapped into something there, and I could do it again, but it doesn't benefit anyone atm.

IF I go the help & guidance route, then this whole blog is going to have a total makeover. I will also be a lot more personal in my approach. It will not be fun or entertaining at all. In fact, it will take on a lot more serious and even intense, professional aura. I will be focusing on helping individuals, and readings will not be general or short, but personally tailored. And besides using psychic/tarot/magic/occult/astrology I will also use my own personal experience and breadth of accumulated knowledge. I will spend time with individuals until they are satisfied. In which case, I will have to charge for my time and energy.

There is also a third alternative, which is running two separate blogs, one of each. I may also choose to completely stop online readings altogether.

That's why I need time out. Time to organize my personal life, as well as to finish the transformation process I have been going through for the last couple of months.

Finally, I want to thank anyone who read this far. Sorry for rambling. I just have a thing for being as honest and thorough as I can...

Anyways,

See you all soon!

~ Ciel

#important

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crazyblondelife · 5 years

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How to Style Spanx Camo Leggings - You'll Want To Wear Them Everywhere!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed the Super Bowl. We had a quiet weekend spent getting some things done around the house (still working on my closet), cooking and sitting by the fire! It’s really one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend! This post is one of several that you’ll see on Crazy Blonde Life today, so I hope you enjoy!

Let me start by saying that my obsession with Spanx leggings is serious! I had never worn them in any way, shape or form until I purchased the faux leather leggings right after Christmas. I don’t know what I ever did without them! I had been talking about getting the camo faux leather pair and finally bit the bullet and ordered. I have already worn them 3 or 4 times and they only came last week. I love that they’re not in-your-face camo, but still “camo enough”…I don’t feel like I need to go hunting! I wouldn’t say that camo is on my list of style essentials, but the solid black faux leather pair definitely are on that list. All of these leggings fit beautifully and are comfortable and chic. I’m wearing an XS, so I would say that they run true to size.

I paired my leggings with a black sweater from free people (bought last year) and my new sneakers from Vici! If you haven’t discovered this great website, I highly suggest you check it out. They have fun pieces at great prices and they ship quickly! The sweater I’m wearing in this post is also from Vici.

I kept accessories simple with this very casual outfit and wore my Chloe bag as a crossbody. This bag is one of my favorites…I’ve had it for about 2 years and still love it just as much today as I did the day I got it. As far as price-per-wear, I would say that I’ve gotten my money’s worth.

Last week was spent getting my house organized and in order. I know I keep talking about the closet, but it’s turned into a painting project and I’m going to have the carpet replaced, so it’s taking a little longer than expected. I’ve been taking pictures and will have a full post about how I’ve gotten myself organized ASAP!

I still have a few things on the list for getting the house completely organized, but I’m close. I’m going to focus on doing those things this week AND…

My husband is out of town for the whole week (again), so I’m going to take this time to work on two online courses that I’m taking. One, is Yes, Yes, Yes from Carla Coulson (I interviewed Carla on a podcast and you can listen here). The other is Money Mentality Makeover from Amanda Frances. We all have stories around money because most of us were led to believe that there wasn’t enough to go around. The truth is that money is energy and the Law of Attraction totally applies to money just like everything else. I’m working to get past the things that are so ingrained in me about money (my money story) and write a new story. This course is also about getting clear on what I want and the steps that are necessary to get there. That’s where Carla’s course comes in…I want to say yes, yes, yes to every great thing that the Universe is putting in front of me and in order to do that, I have to allow myself to feel deserving. This should be an interesting week!

I would love to know what you think of this post! I would really appreciate if you would leave me a comment…it’s important in order for Crazy Blonde Life to grow, for me to have high engagement. That means that I need for you all to interact with me! If you don’t love the post, it’s fine to tell me (nicely please) and if you like it…please let me know that too! I want to make sure that there is something for everyone here on the blog, so PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT BOX!

I hope you all have an amazing week!

#camo leggings #Spanx #casual outfit #daily outfit #Vici

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abdallahalhakim · 6 years

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What to do if you have huge student loan debt

Q. Where do I start? I have a huge student loan debt and don’t think I’ll ever be able to pay it off.

I am a physician assistant, and my partner is a physical therapist. We’re about two years out of school. I have only recently started to try and figure out how to be smart with my money. I owe $167K in student loans, and my partner owes $200K. Our combined income is $200K. We have been living in a town with a very cheap cost of living for the past two years and trying to put all of our extra money on our loans. I even had a night at home where I freaked out about the loans and on impulse, spent thousands of dollars toward my Grad Plus because I just kept thinking my savings were pointless when I was in such massive debt. It seems like, despite all our large payments to these loans, they are hardly different from when we started. Very discouraging. I’ve recently started putting money into an investment account using Betterment and feel like it’s doing pretty well, but I’m overwhelmed by all of the advice and podcasts and books available. I’ve been stressing myself out reading your site again tonight just because of the massive amount of information. I guess my question is, where do I start? I know this whole message must sound stupid, but I’m sending it anyway in case you have something wise to respond with.

A. You’re not alone.

Your message doesn’t sound stupid because I get several of them a day. You are not alone. You are not alone. You are not alone. In fact, you might be typical, but probably just a little worse due to your high debt to income ratio. You’re right to start looking at this now rather than ignoring it because it seems overwhelming. If you don’t get a handle on this now, you’re going to end up nearly retired and still broke. Does that make you anxious? It should. But just anxious enough to put the time and energy into putting together a plan and following it, not anxious enough to lie awake at night. The plan will help prevent that.

You might not be physicians, but you’re basically the equivalent of a single physician with a $200K income and $367K in student loans. That’s a higher ratio of loans to income than I recommend (I try to get people to keep it to 1X and you’re at almost 2X) but it’s still within the realm of doable without anything too extreme, unlike 3-4X, which is really monstrous debt.

The way doctors take care of a debt like that is by living like a resident for 2-5 years (probably closer to 5 years in your case) and directing a massive percentage of your income toward the loans. For example, if you are making $200K, and paying $50K in taxes, and living on $50K (a typical resident salary), that allows you to put $100K toward the loans. In 4 years, the loans are gone, and you can redirect part of that $100K that was going toward them toward retirement savings and part of toward a boost in your lifestyle.

You need to stop thinking you’re rich. Rich isn’t an income; it’s a net worth. Just because you make $200K doesn’t mean you have money to spend. You don’t have money to spend because you are $367K worse than broke. That bum on the corner is richer than you are. You are some of the poorest people in the world, and you need to spend like it at least until you can get back to broke. You’re right to “freak out” about that, because it’s a lot of money. It’s basically the equivalent of two years of your lives that you’ve already spent but haven’t yet earned.

So rather than concentrating on the little tiny stuff like a Betterment investing account and your savings account, you need to head on address the elephant in the room- the student loans – and develop a written plan for tackling that. Once you have that plan, all you have to do is follow it. Don’t make it so extreme that you can’t follow it, but do make it extreme enough that it is gone within five years. Some suggestions:

1. Boost income

Do all you can to boost income. It’s a lot easier to pay off $367K when you make $250K than when you make $200K. That might be over time, switching jobs, getting a raise, working at the hospital on weekends, etc.

2. Get on the same page

The two of you need to meet together and get on the same page. You need to be united. Just one of you doing this isn’t going to work. You might consider reading Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover or attending Financial Peace University or Fire Your Financial Advisor together. If nothing else, start downloading the podcasts from the Dave Ramsey show and listen to them while you drive to and from work for a month or two.

3. Can’t go halfway

If that debt is at 6%+ like most student loans, the interest alone on $367K is $22K. That’s why only putting $25K a year toward it means you never get out of debt and only putting $50K toward it means you’re in debt for 15 years. You’ve got to get that number higher, like $100K. Then you have a chance. Sit down, make a real budget, cut cut cut, and follow it.

4. Refinance

Consider refinancing the loan if at all possible. Even knocking 1% off the interest rate is $4K that goes toward principal instead of interest each year. If you’re really committed to getting rid of it in 5 years, you can take a 5-year variable loan and maybe knock 2-3% off of the interest, allowing you to put an extra $8-12K a year toward principle. That will make a big difference, but bear in mind you can’t feel like you did something just because you refinanced. Refinancing doesn’t get rid of any debt. You actually have to throw money at it — a lot of money at it — to get rid of it.

5. Downgrade your lifestyle

If you have already upgraded your lifestyle too much to be able to put $100K a year toward those loans and some hardcore budgeting can’t solve the problem, you may need to sell your cars and drive beaters or even sell your house and find a cheaper rental house for a few years.

6. Use your cash

Take any cash you have (other than a very small emergency fund) and put it toward the debt. Any assets that you have that you can sell would also help- rental properties, expensive cars, boats, strollers you don’t need, whatever. “Sell so much stuff on eBay that the kids think they’re next” as Ramsey would say. It doesn’t make much sense to hold much cash making 1% or 0.01% while paying 6% on student loans. You already had the emergency, use the emergency fund to pay for it.

7. Paying off debt isn’t impulse spending

“Impulse spending” on your loans isn’t spending at all. It’s probably exactly what you should be doing. In fact, I might even liquidate the Betterment account and put that toward the loans too. The only saving/investing you should be doing at this point is enough to get the maximum match your employers are offering in the 401(k)s. Everything else should be going toward that debt. Maybe as your debt to income ratio improves you can justify slowing down a little in order to take advantage of the tax breaks available with retirement accounts, but not when you’re at nearly 2X already.

James M. Dahle is the author of The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide To Personal Finance And Investing and blogs at the White Coat Investor. He is the creator of Fire Your Financial Advisor!, a high-quality 12 module course with a little over 7 hours of videos and screencasts, a pre-test, section quizzes with answer explanations, and a final exam. The goal is to take a high income professional from square one, teach them financial literacy and help them write their own financial plan.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.

[Read More ...] https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2018/03/huge-student-loan-debt.html

#Health #Medical

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mrmarknewman · 6 years

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What to do if you have huge student loan debt

Q. Where do I start? I have a huge student loan debt and don’t think I’ll ever be able to pay it off.

A. You’re not alone.

1. Boost income

2. Get on the same page

3. Can’t go halfway

4. Refinance

5. Downgrade your lifestyle

6. Use your cash

7. Paying off debt isn’t impulse spending

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.

from KevinMD.com http://ift.tt/2HJgYx3

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harriettbarnette-blog · 6 years

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ArticleMs Design templates

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endlessarchite · 7 years

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Things That Make a Busy Life with a Dog a LOT Easier (+ Giveaway)

It’s Pet Week part 2! If you missed part one, see this post.

For those who have never read this blog before (or haven’t read for long), let me introduce you to the other major character in this DIY adventure: Charlie…

Both she and my decorating habits have changed a lot over the years…

When she’s happy and relaxed, our life at home is pretty quiet:

More often than not, this is a more realistic picture of her:

Over the years, I’ve had to make lots of adjustments to keep her happy and me sane. At times when I worked in an office, it meant turning down jobs that would make me travel so much that she would be boarded all the time. Now that I work from home as a full-time blogger though, you would think it makes everything easy — but while it is nicer for a dog in many ways, there are still obstacles we have to work on together:

I do conference calls with brands while at home. Which is usually right when the UPS guy decides to deliver something and send my dog to DEFCON 3. Not even working in a home office with the door closed makes this ideal.

DIY projects, tools, and related dangers are all around, and she likes to be directly in on the action (and even sometimes underneath my ladder).

She’s a the medium-to-large size, which means my family likens her to a GIANT and don’t always know how to deal with her size compared to their smaller dogs.

Her size also means heavy bags of food to carry around, larger spaces on the couch (someday I hope to get a decent picture of her thinking she can fit when she totally doesn’t), pet beds that can’t be neatly hidden, easy counter and table access, etc.). Luckily, she is well trained enough not to climb on things and understands unattended food does not mean her food, so it’s mostly just her climbing the fence that I worry about.

Lots and lots of dirt and fur tracked into the house (to think, I used to want this to be a no-shoe house… HA!)

Adjusting to having a new puppy in the house meant a lot of changes right away when I first adopted her, but after a few years, I learned about those super awesome pet-related things that I had no clue about for a long time: new products, new websites, and other things that make maintaining a busy life with an active dog even easier. So, as I promised earlier, here’s that list! If I ever find other things, I’ll continue to add to this same post (for easy bookmarking later). And there’s also a giveaway from one of my sponsors, Swiffer, below — so be sure to enter with a comment this week and in the widget at the bottom of this post (if you don’t see it in your reader, click over to the post in your browser here).

*some links contain affiliates*

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My DIY elevated feeder — I already explained how my DIY project from last year fixed Charlie’s habit of tossing over her food bowl, but it’s worth repeating! Since having built it, there has been far less food on the floor (not zero food, but she’s still a dog… still a messy eater, but she usually keeps it in the bowl now instead of turning over the bowl and eating it all directly off the floor).

Before:

After:

Microfiber floor mats — I have two microfiber floor mats, one at the front door and one in front of the patio, that are specially designed for catching mud and fur whenever Charlie enters and exits the house. It’s not fool-proof, but it does make a significant difference for me whenever it’s a rainy/muddy/dirty day outside and I don’t want her tracking the muck into the house. I find that since having used them, I am spending less time and effort trying to wipe each of her paws with wet wipes, and my floor doesn’t suffer. And their gray color ties in enough with my decor that I don’t hate them.

Grooming wet wipes — Of course, now that I’ve got my new block print rug in the living room (and as a fan of lighter colored rugs in general), I still have to wipe their feet. Even though I could use a cheap paper towel, I like the dog wipes for paws. These anti-itch wipes are great for treating Charlie’s allergies (if you’ve ever seen your dog licking or chewing their paws after coming inside, you know what I’m talking about) and I like these grooming wipes as well for when Charlie has a dirty playtime at the park — Georgia red clay is no joke! I buy the bigger containers for savings.

Rinse-free/waterless dog shampoo — Charlie is an anxious dog. And when it comes to regular grooming, it was a LONG process just to even get her to take a bath. She’d freak out to the point where groomers won’t even take her, so I had to re-train her at home. I started with this rinse-free shampoo to keep the time in the tub to a minimum, and it made a huge difference. Over time, I’d use the same shampoo, but incorporate water so she’d get used to it, eventually graduating to deeper cleans. She learned to love the massage and being brushed, and now we can get through it without trauma or me getting soaked to the bone from trying to keep her in the tub. The rinse-free alternative truly did give me some relief (and still does if she needs a quick bath but I don’t have the time or energy for a longer one).

Oatmeal shampoo — if your dog is itching a lot from allergies or fleas (even if you use good flea treatments, they can still get bitten and itch, especially when warm summers like this year mean more summer fleas!). This one is highly rated.

Swiffer — There’s a reason I fully embraced working with this brand as a sponsor of the blog! I use Swiffer all the time. Charlie is a shedder — a massive, unrelenting shedder. Even after first using a good floor vacuum that can pick up her tumbleweeds of hair, I still have to go back through with a Swiffer Wet Jet to take care of all of her paw prints and use their dry cloths to take care of lots of other surfaces. Whenever one of my friends gets a new house or pet, Swiffer products are a very welcome gift (and you can get your own gift by entering the giveaway below!). Oh, and I forgot to mention in the last post: they actually reformulated their wet jet so that it no longer leaves streaks on laminate floors like mine. It used to be my biggest gripe with their products, and their development team took that feedback from lots of folks reporting the same thing and went looking for a better solution (pun-intended).

Food delivery — After discovering the mud mats mentioned above, I went searching for other smart solutions on pet-related websites. I found my answer in the form of automated dog food delivery. I try to give Charlie the best food I can afford, and I order the BIG bags. And since I also subscribe for steady delivery, I get another 5% off. The end result is that it actually beats the price I was paying to drive to a store like Petsmart, but I don’t even need to put on pants or feel guilty that I forgot her food during my last errand for groceries (which sometimes means she gets people food when I run out, but it’s not great for her digestion).

A rolling food bin — I haven’t finished the pantry makeover, but an improvement I made several years ago was a simple investment in a rolling bin that was large enough to fit an entire large bag of dog food. Given that the cheapest price per pound of food is in the large bags, I would buy in bulk, but when I was using a smaller bin, it meant that I could only store a small amount each time in the previous plastic container and had to keep the rest elsewhere (which is a quick way to clutter). I think I only spent $20 on a new bin that also had rolling wheels and a flip-up top, but the mileage and convenience I get out of it is night and day. It just goes to show, once again, that investing in the right products for your house (even if it costs a little bit more than what you were using before) is a smart move because it can save you time, money, and square footage.

“Tough” stuffed dog toys — There’s unfortunately no stopping the gutting of a stuffed toy sometimes. Even when they’re labeled something akin to indestructible, I look at the claim and laugh, because Charlie will eventually find her way inside the stomach of that toy if it contains a squeaker. I’ve learned to just embrace it, but buying “tough” toys instead of the cheap ones still mean she usually hangs onto them a little longer, and that added time is easier on my costs long-term (I pay more upfront, but she hangs onto them long enough for break even or better). Sometimes she’ll have a favorite and keep them intact for months, and others will last just a few weeks, but less cleanup and a happy dog who is quiet during conference calls is a win-win for me!

A decent deshedding brush — While I have used a number of them over the years, there are two deshedding tools that pretty much tie for me as the best: the FURminator and the SleekEZ. The first I picked up in store (it’s a little pricer than most, but it was worth it for me!) and the second was part of a swag bag from a pet conference I went to a few years ago. Charlie loves getting brushed from the FURminator and I personally love the INSANE amount of deshedding the SleekEZ one does… it’s like brushing a horse (I only comb her outside with that one, though… it basically creates a whole new dog’s worth of fur. I just also saw through grabbing these links that there’s a deshedding shampoo, too, so I’m going to try that out next!

Honestly, that’s all I can think of for now, but I’ll add more as I think of it! It’s also a great question in terms of a special giveaway:

Giveaway question: What products or services have you been grateful to discover in caring for your pet?

Leave a comment on this blog post for a sweet goodie box from Swiffer! Be sure to also update the Rafflecopter widget too. I actually just asked them as I was writing this post if they would throw in something for you guys (another reason why I like working with them — they really have an awesome and super flexible team), so I don’t have details on precisely what you’ll wind up with, but the box is generally this size (photo is of my sister modeling one of her housewarming gifts):

Full giveaway details:

Prize: a sweet goodie box from Swiffer to help you & your pet keep things fresh & clean (any package I’ve gotten from them includes ample refills to last a while)

Number of winners: one

Geographical restrictions: U.S. only (that’s usually how it goes, but if that’s not the case I’ll open it up further!)

Ends: Friday, June 23 at 11:59PM

To enter: leave a comment on this blog post answering my giveaway question & update the embedded widget (if you have trouble with the widget, please let me know, and if you don’t see it, make sure you’re clicked over to my site directly!)

Ready? Go! And thanks in advance for your tips and recommendations on other items… I hope Charlie and I discover something in the process!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This post and giveaway are sponsored by Swiffer, but as always, all text and opinions, embarrassing stories, and bad jokes are 100% my own.

The post Things That Make a Busy Life with a Dog a LOT Easier (+ Giveaway) appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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thoughtfuldreambarbarian · 7 years

Text

Things That Make a Busy Life with a Dog a LOT Easier (+ Giveaway)

It's Pet Week part 2! If you missed part one, see this post.

For those who have never read this blog before (or haven't read for long), let me introduce you to the other major character in this DIY adventure: Charlie

Both she and my decorating habits have changed a lot over the years

When she's happy and relaxed, our life at home is pretty quiet:

More often than not, this is a more realistic picture of her:

Over the years, I've had to make lots of adjustments to keep her happy and me sane. At times when I worked in an office, it meant turning down jobs that would make me travel so much that she would be boarded all the time. Now that I work from home as a full-time blogger though, you would think it makes everything easy - but while it is nicer for a dog in many ways, there are still obstacles we have to work on together:

DIY projects, tools, and related dangers are all around, and she likes to be directly in on the action (and even sometimes underneath my ladder).

She's a the medium-to-large size, which means my family likens her to a GIANT and don't always know how to deal with her size compared to their smaller dogs.

Her size also means heavy bags of food to carry around, larger spaces on the couch (someday I hope to get a decent picture of her thinking she can fit when she totally doesn't), pet beds that can't be neatly hidden, easy counter and table access, etc.). Luckily, she is well trained enough not to climb on things and understands unattended food does not mean her food, so it's mostly just her climbing the fence that I worry about.

Lots and lots of dirt and fur tracked into the house (to think, I used to want this to be a no-shoe house HA!)

Adjusting to having a new puppy in the house meant a lot of changes right away when I first adopted her, but after a few years, I learned about those super awesome pet-related things that I had no clue about for a long time: new products, new websites, and other things that make maintaining a busy life with an active dog even easier. So, as I promised earlier, here's that list! If I ever find other things, I'll continue to add to this same post (for easy bookmarking later). And there's also a giveaway from one of my sponsors, Swiffer, below - so be sure to enter with a comment this week and in the widget at the bottom of this post (if you don't see it in your reader, click over to the post in your browserhere).

*some links contain affiliates*

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My DIY elevated feeder - I already explained how my DIY project from last yearfixed Charlie's habit of tossing over her food bowl, but it's worth repeating! Since having built it, there has been far less food on the floor (not zero food, but she's still a dog still a messy eater, but she usually keeps it in the bowl now instead of turning over the bowl and eating it all directly off the floor).

Before:

After:

Microfiber floor mats - I have two microfiber floor mats, one at the front door and one in front of the patio, that are specially designed for catching mud and fur whenever Charlie enters and exits the house. It's not fool-proof, but it does make a significant difference for me whenever it's a rainy/muddy/dirty day outside and I don't want her tracking the muckinto the house. I find that since having used them, I am spending less time and effort trying to wipe each of her pawswith wet wipes, and my floor doesn't suffer. And their gray color ties in enough with my decor that I don't hate them.

Grooming wet wipes - Of course, now that I've got my new block print rug in the living room (and as a fan of lighter colored rugs in general), I still have to wipe their feet. Even though I could use a cheap paper towel, I like the dog wipes for paws. These anti-itch wipes are great for treating Charlie's allergies (if you've ever seen your dog licking or chewing their paws after coming inside, you know what I'm talking about) and I like these grooming wipes as well for when Charlie has a dirty playtime at the park - Georgia red clay is no joke! I buy the bigger containers for savings.

Rinse-free/waterless dog shampoo - Charlie is an anxious dog. And when it comes to regular grooming, it was a LONG process just to even get her to take a bath. She'd freak out to the point where groomers won't even take her, so I had to re-train her at home. I started with this rinse-free shampoo to keep the time in the tub to a minimum, and it made a huge difference. Over time, I'd use the same shampoo, but incorporate water so she'd get used to it, eventually graduating to deeper cleans. She learned to love the massage and being brushed, and now we can get through it without trauma or me getting soaked to the bone from trying to keep her in the tub. The rinse-free alternative truly did give me some relief (and still does if she needs a quick bath but I don't have the time or energy for a longer one).

Oatmeal shampoo - if your dog is itching a lot from allergies or fleas (even if you use good flea treatments, they can still get bitten and itch, especially when warm summers like this year mean more summer fleas!). This one is highly rated.

Swiffer - There's a reason I fully embraced working with this brand as a sponsor of the blog! I use Swiffer all the time. Charlie is a shedder- a massive, unrelenting shedder. Even after firstusinga good floor vacuum that can pick up her tumbleweeds of hair, I still have to go back through with a Swiffer Wet Jet to take care of all of her paw prints and use their dry cloths to take care of lots of other surfaces. Whenever one of my friends gets a new house or pet, Swiffer products are a very welcome gift (and you can get your own gift by entering the giveaway below!). Oh, and I forgot to mention in the last post: they actually reformulated their wet jet so that it no longer leaves streaks on laminate floors like mine. It used to be my biggest gripe with their products, and their development team took that feedback from lots of folks reporting the same thing and went looking for a better solution (pun-intended).

Food delivery -After discovering the mud mats mentioned above, I went searching for other smart solutions on pet-related websites.I found my answer in the form of automated dog food delivery. I try to give Charliethe best food I can afford, and I order the BIG bags. And since I also subscribe for steady delivery, I get another 5% off. The end result is that it actually beats the price I was paying to drive to a store like Petsmart, but I don't even need to put on pantsor feel guilty that I forgot her food duringmy last errand for groceries (which sometimes means she gets people food when I run out, but it's not great for her digestion).

A rolling food bin - I haven't finished the pantry makeover, but an improvement I made several years ago was a simple investment in a rolling bin that was large enough to fit an entire large bag of dog food. Given that the cheapest price per pound of food is in the large bags, I would buy in bulk, but when I was using a smaller bin, it meant that I could only store a small amount each time in the previous plastic container and had to keep the rest elsewhere (which is a quick way to clutter). I think I only spent $20 on a new bin that also had rolling wheels and a flip-up top, but the mileage and convenience I get out of it is night and day. It just goes to show, once again, that investing in the rightproducts for your house (even if it costs a little bit more than what you were using before) is a smart move because it can saveyou time, money, and square footage.

Tough stuffed dog toys - There's unfortunately no stopping the gutting of a stuffed toy sometimes. Even when they're labeled something akin to indestructible, I look at the claim and laugh, because Charlie will eventually find her way inside the stomach of that toy if it contains a squeaker. I've learned to just embrace it, but buying tough toys instead of the cheap ones still mean she usually hangs onto them a little longer, and that added time is easier on my costs long-term (I pay more upfront, but she hangs onto them long enough for break even or better). Sometimes she'll have a favorite and keep them intact for months, and others will last just a few weeks, but less cleanup and a happy dog who is quiet during conference calls is a win-win for me!

A decent deshedding brush - While I have used a number of them over the years, there are two deshedding tools that pretty much tie for me as the best: the FURminator and the SleekEZ. The first I picked up in store (it's a little pricer than most, but it was worth it for me!) and the second was part of a swag bag from a pet conference I went to a few years ago. Charlie loves getting brushed from the FURminator and I personally love the INSANE amount of deshedding the SleekEZ one does it's like brushing a horse (I only comb her outside with that one, though it basically creates a whole new dog's worth of fur. I just also saw through grabbing these links that there's a deshedding shampoo, too, so I'm going to try that out next!

Honestly, that's all I can think of for now, but I'll add more as I think of it! It's also a great question in terms of a special giveaway:

Giveaway question: What products or services have you been grateful to discover in caring for your pet?

Leave a comment on this blog post for a sweet goodie box from Swiffer! Be sure to also update the Rafflecopter widget too. I actually just asked them as I was writing this post if they would throw in something for you guys (another reason why I like working with them - they really have an awesome and super flexible team), so I don't have details on precisely what you'll wind up with, but the box is generally this size (photo is of my sister modeling one of her housewarming gifts):

Full giveaway details:

Prize: a sweet goodie box from Swiffer to help you & your pet keep things fresh & clean (any package I've gotten from them includes ample refills to last a while)

Number of winners: one

Geographical restrictions: U.S. only (that's usually how it goes, but if that's not the case I'll open it up further!)

Ends: Friday, June 23 at 11:59PM

To enter: leave a comment on this blog post answering my giveaway question & update the embedded widget (if you have trouble with the widget, please let me know, and if you don't see it, make sure you're clicked over to my site directly!)

Ready? Go! And thanks in advance for your tips and recommendations on other items I hope Charlie and I discover something in the process!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This post and giveaway are sponsored by Swiffer, but as always, all text and opinions, embarrassing stories, and bad jokes are 100% my own.

The post Things That Make a Busy Life with a Dog a LOT Easier (+ Giveaway) appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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