8 Simple Ways To Reduce Stress

We all know what it's like to find ourselves stressed. Stress is a part of everyday life. It's a constant. Even people who don't think they're stressed probably are in some way. And the best way to move forward is to figure out ways to manage it. We need to find the best ways to shelve it and ensure that we're functioning at our fullest potential, as only we can. 

I'm not saying that's going to be easy, but I am saying that it can be done. And though I'm not always the best example, I do definitely have the right ideas. So - here are a few ways you can reduce your stress - consider which ones will work for you.

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I'm giving you a set of business cards!

Have you heard of UPrinting.com?

I have. And since I had seen their cards before I took it upon myself to see if I could possibly work with them on a review and/or giveaway for my readers.

Lately they're working hard to promote their Mom Business Cards. As many a mom knows, these kinds of cards are kind of trendy (and definitely fun!) when it comes to making new mommy friends, coordinating playdates, and more importantly, when it comes to blogging.

I was excited for an opportunity to receive cards from UPrinting as I have recently purchased my Good Girl Gone Redneck domain, and I am attending two blog conferences this summer. So cards are essential. If you've got a conference in your future, you need a batch of cards. Without a doubt. And if they're free, even better for you - right? So check out the details below to find out what you could win, and how to go about entering.

Small blogging disclaimer ... nothing to do with the prizes in question, but this is my first time using Rafflecopter for a giveaway, so please let me know if you have any problems or questions. And forgive me in advance if anything doesn't work. Rafflecopter newbie in 'da house!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, everyone! Winner will be picked in one week. I hope it's you!

Disclaimer: You should assume that the owner of this blog will receive free print products in exchange for this post. Any and all reviews posted are solely based on my own experience and may be atypical. Please practice due diligence in any related purchase making decisions. 

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I don't even know what to title this post.

So we noticed a water spot on our kitchen ceiling the other day. It seemed to appear over night. It sure felt like it did. And I looked at it and it was brownish/blackish definitely mold-ish.

Fast forward to yesterday when we had a friend who is a contractor come out, and he did a quick assessment and told us what the next steps would be.

So after he left I called a plumber - they were out in a few hours. Guy cuts a square hole in our ceiling, pulls out the drywall and it's so nasty you wouldn't want to see it on TV. Ew.

Determines the leak is definitely from our upstairs toilet (in our master bath). Great. Takes up our toilet, wax seal is like shredded or something. Well, there you go. It appears that the toilet has been removed before, and there's a definite leak on at least one side. It's really gross, but the leak is fixed so we're done with step one, at least.

He recommends we call a mold guy. Mold guy is in the area and comes out a few hours later. Checks kitchen ceiling. It's definitely mold. He's going to have to cut more out of the ceiling. Probably do a mold treatment. Did I mention yesterday was our 10yr anniversary? Happy anniversary to us!

Checks the ceiling and it's bad, but it's not like the whole ceiling, which is great news, thank goodness. We don't have to move to a hotel, kennel the dogs and hide the cats. ;) We DO have to live with a loud fan and a plastic wrapped section of our kitchen. I'll live. It's all good. No dishwasher? I won't cook. We're all set.

BUT.

He goes upstairs to cut up some of the bathroom floor and it is so freakin' gross there are NO WORDS. NO WORDS, people. It's nasty. It's rotted. It's a Stage 3 or whatever that means. It's likely that the bottom of the toilet has been leaking into the bathroom floor forEVER. Probably since before we bought our house 5 years ago. WTH? How is that even possible?

Note to self, and to everyone you know in this world ... if you ever buy a house (first house, second, again and again), make sure you have a water detector person come and check all your bathrooms, walls, floors, and laundry room, too, while you're at it. Heck, throw in the kitchen to be safe.  There was so much moisture and water in the bathroom floor that it was off the charts. Ew.

So right now we have our upstairs bath cordoned off. It's a biohazard. Seriously. The plumber had to come back out and take our toilet off again and it's in our master bathtub. What? Yes. That is my life right now.

My daughter even drew a picture of it.

Toilet - meet bathtub. Redneck much?

Happy anniversary to us. Oy.

On a positive note, we're getting a new bathroom floor. And have to paint the kitchen ceiling. Maybe I'll go yellow or something. That could be fun. Or cheesy. Or both. We'll see.

Thanks for listening. I wish you a household-stress-free-weekend ahead.

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Project Marriage Challenge: The Bedroom

I've decided to link up today with Project Marriage Challenge and do a little work on my bedroom. IN the bedroom. My actual bedroom, not what YOU'RE thinking. ;)

I have been so slack in doing clean up in my room. Hubby and I just let things pile up in there, make messes, and just sort of leave it be. Once it is where it is it ends up staying there. I'm sure we're not the only ones who know how that goes.

And I'll admit one of the things that works in our home is having separate blankets. In our huge king-sized bed. Yes, one for him. Two for me. I'm bad like that, sorry. But he has a comforter, and I have two quilts. Light quilts. Nothing too heavy so I can layer. Or kick them all around. Or whatever works for me.

And for months now my husband has been saying his blanket is a mess. It's our old comforter from when we lived in NYC. Yes, if you're trying to do the math, that was back in 2005/6. Maybe even before then. I'm honestly not quite sure. It's got tears in it, and it's falling apart. I ordered a new one for him, but by the time I did that and it came it was getting warm and spring cleaning didn't include having the heaviest blanket on earth on our bed.


But we DID get a new blanket for our guest room. For when the grandparents were visiting. We just needed something new and fresh and clean and pretty. And we got this bright red comforter, that's lighter than the others we have, and it's reversible. Tan on the other side.

So after reading about this link-up I decided to go upstairs, get that old torn ratty blue one off the bed, change the sheets and get that pretty and bright red one on the bed. Immediately! Look how nice it looks!


Next? I tackle the to-read bookshelf (and the extra one next to it) that sit in the corner of the room. I love having it there, but I have so many books these days I'm reaching the floor and starting a new pile. And the bin next to the bookcase? More books. It's time to work on that area, and de-stress that corner of the room. Which is mine. My corner. Any wonder I can't fall asleep at night?


So if you're in the mood for some summer cleaning, and want to spruce up your bedroom a bit, head on over to Life Without Pink and link up here!

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A New Look!

So, what do you think? It's a whole new me!

I had the fortunate pleasure of being a total pain in the a$$ to Dionne over at Homesick Cajun as she revamped my 'hood for me. Poor girl didn't know what she was getting herself into!

Anyway - I decided I wanted some pinks, browns and a little bit of blue, too. So she gave me that and then some. And then I decided it was too pink. And then she made some more changes for me. And then I realized I'd have to have a signature. My standard signature always has those two asterisks before my name, and she creatively incorporated the flowers in there.

And so, here I am. Good Girl Gone Redneck in a whole new 'hood. It's still me, underneath the pretty flowers, the light colors and the funky fonts, I'm just that New York girl who relocated, found a whole new Redneck side to myself and started livin' it up here in Blognia.

It feels really good to have my own space, as for the entire time I've been blogging I've been floating around, grabbing free backgrounds and just testing them out, looking for that perfect fit. That perfect way to look at my site and say, hey, whattup? It's really me. It still feels weird to see myself in these colors. It still feels as though - hey, wait - did *I* say that? But I love it. It feels like home. I have to thank her for that, and thank all of you, as YOU are a huge part of what makes this feel like home to me, as well.

Hope you all like the look, and if you don't - well - just lie to me. I can't take it. I'm pretty fragile right now. ;-) Or not. Whatever.

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Where toys go to die ...

What a sad sounding title, but I have to be honest here. I think that the toy box is the place where all toys go to die. They just don't ever seem to make it back out of there, ya know?

When my daughter was little I got her this toy box with a gift card we had from Amazon. It's great, it's cute, it's light, easy to move around, and it was cheap, all things considered. I like it a lot, but for the most part, she would try to climb in there and pull out her toys, tossing them onto our living room floor, so she could spend some time in there playing (these pictures were taken about a year ago, my gosh she looks so tiny!)


I have since used it for stuffed animals (not played with) and recently switched that up and put in some of the 'extras.' You know the kind.

The toys that she hasn't played with in ages, the ones that are missing pieces, but I hope they'll resurface some day and so I can't bear to toss them out just yet, the puzzles that have pieces scattered all over the house, the soft blocks that she rarely looks at. And yet, today, when I did the switch, moving the stuffed animals from the toy box to the bright and cheerful green basket that held all of these things, she proceeded to find a way to play with nearly everything over the course of a few hours, give or take.

And then, tonight, after she went to bed, I proceeded to place everything back in the box. Whether they'll resurface again remains to be seen, but I stand by my new name for the thing, it's absolutely the place where toys go to die. Poor little rings and blocks and things ...

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