Different Hats

A woman who wears different hats in her everyday life.

  • Strategies to cope with negative feelings
    Daily writing prompt
    What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?

    Turn the music on loud and bust out the painting equipment, my emotions do the rest on the canvas.

    Cry in the shower and just let it all out, take a deep breath afterwards.

    Life happens. I tell myself all of the time that life happens and sometimes things are out of our control. Make the best of it.

    Pep talk in the mirror. Sounds weird but it helps when my anxiety peaks.

    Go outside and smell the fresh air. Stop and think for a minute that it will all be okay and I just need to relax.

    Play a video game. Usually it’s The Sims 4 nowadays because I’ve got kids now. Game of choice – World of Warcraft.

    Go for a drive with the windows down and the music up.

    Take the kids to the park so we can all unwind together and have fun.

  • Best compliment I’ve received
    Daily writing prompt
    What was the best compliment you’ve received?

    The best compliment that I’ve received is being told that I am a good mother and I am doing a great job.

  • Activities I lose myself in
    Daily writing prompt
    What activities do you lose yourself in?

    Painting on canvas, DIY projects, gardening, cooking, playing The Sims 4, going to the beach, blogging, reading, and dumpster diving!

  • Favorite type of weather
    Daily writing prompt
    What is your favorite type of weather?

    Thunderstorms. It’s peaceful, dark, calming, and the sound of heavy rains pounding down from above sends a chill up my spine.

    I get such a good feeling when I see the clouds above begin to change over to darkness and the thunder rumbles are getting closer.

    I can’t explain why I enjoy thunderstorms, but something about them puts me into a relaxed state.

    And here’s what I enjoy the most – getting caught in the rain, drenched by Mother Nature’s natural tears.

    Growing up as a child my mom used to tell me that it was people in Heaven taking turns bowling up in the clouds and that’s why it thunders. Now as an adult, every time it thunders I immediately think to myself “strike”.

    Here’s a quote that I really connect with:

    “Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.”

    For a long time I thought this quote originated from Bob Dylan, but I believe the credit belongs to a country singer named Roger Miller.

    Now I can’t wait for thunderstorm weather.

  • Movies or TV series
    Daily writing prompt
    What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?

    I like watching The Sopranos and Game of Thrones, probably have seen both of them like 10x each and I still enjoy it.

    Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy without a doubt like 50x.

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  • The Monster With Green Eyes

    She’s a different type of female, like one I’ve never met before in my life. A lonesome creature that rarely speaks up anymore. What was once filled with fire and sparks has now turned to ashes and dust. She has changed completely and I can’t blame her for why.

    You’ll never see her fitting in with the rest of society. She does not wear designer clothing, let alone carry a purse for that matter. Her hair is always up in a messy bun and I can see that she’s not into going to the salon. Pale skin, no makeup, and yet still beautiful.

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  • The Schoolmaster Painting

    For the last year or so, I’ve been taken my painting very seriously. What began as a hobby to help with my postpartum depression battle has blossomed into a dedicated skill.

    I’m what they call an amateur artist – just starting out on their journey and finding what works best for me. Maybe someday I can reach the point of professional level, but for now, I have lots to learn still.

    This year I plan on entering multiple art competitions. Mostly just for fun with hopes of getting a little bit of attention.

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  • Going Back to School, Again

    I have one dream that I need to accomplish before I die. Get a college education.

    Three years ago, I gave that up.

    I was in Community College for one year and then I decided out of the blue to apply to other Universities. One school reached out for an interview and I said yes. I gave a short speech about myself, how I got to this point, and what I wanted to do with my life. Three days later, I had a voicemail from the Admissions center letting me know that I was accepted with a scholarship.

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  • This Big Toe of Mine

    Once upon a time, I almost lost my big toe to lawn mower blades. I don’t know how the blades missed because I walked right into it. I can still feel the pain from the moment my left foot went underneath the machine. At first, I felt nothing but chills, everything became completely numb and I couldn’t even utter one word from my lips.

    I used to work as a personal assistant for a wealthy family. I basically did everything that they didn’t want to do, things like: babysitting the kids, cleaning up the house, drove vehicles to the shops, worked on American Muscle cars, and did maintenance work like mowing the lawn or taking care of the pool.

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  • DIY Back To The Future DeLorean Halloween Costume

    Each year I ask my son the same question, usually about six or seven times, “What would you like to be for Halloween?” His normal response is “I don’t know” but then he starts to think about the things he likes. I have been making his costumes handmade for a couple of years now by his request. Most of the time I just use boxes because it’s easier for me to work with.

    My son thought about it for a while, he came up with a few ideas but the one he decided on was the DeLorean car from the movie Back To The Future. I thought that was such a cool and fun idea to work with and I was all about this project. I’m not sure where exactly he got this idea from because I don’t think he’s ever watch the movie before, maybe from a video game or something.

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  • All About Our Dog, Rocket

    I thought it would be a good day to introduce the family dog, Rocket.

    Rocket has been apart of our family for over six years now. He is a Jack Russel Terrier mix and originally from Puerto Rico. His Birthday is unknown so we celebrate it on the day he was adopted. Rocket was found abandoned on the streets after Hurricane Irma, and no one came looking for him. Lucky for him, he was rescued and then shipped via airplane to be sent to an animal shelter in New Jersey.

    Rocket was only at the animal shelter for two weeks, that’s it! I just happen to be looking for a new dog to adopt for our family and this was the first shelter that I visited. The shelter attendant brought him outside to introduce us and it was just love at first sight. He jumped right up on to my legs and began to stretch his paws and I swear he was smiling right at me. That was it for me. I said he is the one I want to bring home and smother with love. I knew my family would adore him too.

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  • How To Become A Successful Dumpster Diver

    This is such a fun hobby and it’s one of my favorite titles to have – the dumpster diver. My house is filled with treasures found from inside and outside of the dumpsters; things like furniture, toys, jewelry, decorations, snacks, drinks, beauty products, and many more random things.

    When I tell other people what I do and how I jump right inside of a dumpster if I see something good, I get a lot of different looks. The name of the hobby itself sounds disgusting and I used to wonder myself how could you possibly find something that’s buried beneath the garbage?

    First time that I ever heard about this was through watching videos online and it just didn’t make sense to me – how are these people finding stuff that’s in great condition for free in a dumpster? Sometimes I’d think that maybe it is real and these people are just lucky because there devoted to the hobby, or maybe it’s just fake and all the things you see is just placed inside intentionally.

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  • Painting For A Contest

    Last year I entered a painting for a contest at the fairgrounds. It was the first time that I gathered up enough courage to submit a piece of my work that would be displayed with other fantastic artists from our county.

    This was not only exciting, but also a little bit terrifying. Friends and family have seen the things that I can create, but not so much random strangers. One time I had an Instagram account where I would post pictures of my stuff, but I lost interest and focused on other things instead.

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  • Homeless in New Jersey

    Sometimes life works in mysterious ways. One minute, things are going great and it feels like your going in the right direction. Trying to do the right things to live a successful existence. Then in the blink of an eye, that can all change.

    Change can be a good thing, but before the good must come the bad.

    Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.

    A hard lesson can be a rewarding pleasure after all.

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  • Mommy is Having A Bad Day

    Being a parent is a tough job sometimes. Most days I feel that I am not doing enough when in reality I’m doing too much all at once. Every day is the same routine with the same daily tasks and it can get very dull.

    Deciding on what to make for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

    Picking up the messes and spills.

    Taking a nap when the baby sleeps because I am so tired and never get proper rest.

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  • DIY Nintendo Switch Halloween Costume

    In my last post I mentioned how my son wanted me to make two Halloween costumes for him; the first costume was a Creeper from Minecraft, the second costume was a Nintendo Switch. Making the Creeper was pretty simple – I found an old box with a similar shape of the Creeper and then went online looking for ideas on how to put the pieces together.

    After that was finished, I moved on to coming up with a design for making a Nintendo Switch costume. Naturally, I went to Pinterest searching for some ideas and I couldn’t find much. Most of the pins were just on how to make yourself into a joystick controller or of an Nintendo product advertisement. This wasn’t very helpful so I decided to just make something up myself.

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  • Blue-Ringed Octopuses Bouncing Bubbles Painting

    I really enjoy painting. I wish I could dedicate more of my time to creating new stuff but it’s hard to fit a hobby into life with kids, being a student, and working.

    So the only way that I can paint is either during the baby’s nap time, or late at night when the house is asleep when no one can bother me.

    Right now it’s that time for me – late at night and I have some freedom to do whatever until like 3AM.

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  • Crying The Blues, A Benzodiazepine Story

    Seven years ago I was a different person. My life was in the imaginary hands of plastic bottles filled with little pills that were either orange, white, or blue. Once a month I would flee to the pharmacy to pickup my plethora of prescriptions after having a meeting with the Psychiatrist, and I never looked forward to any of them except for one – the one medication that stayed consistent with my excessive cocktail experimentation.

    A medication so powerful that I could no longer recognize who I was when I looked into the mirror, but I didn’t care much. For such a long time it was the only thing that made me feel better in this dreadful world, it was a temporary escape from my reality. I used to feel so sedated – and what I mean by that is everything from movement to performing a simple task just felt like it took years to accomplish, and it was such an amazing feeling that I used to wish I felt like this all of the time.

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  • DIY Minecraft Creeper Halloween Costume

    I LOVE Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday right next to Christmas. The costumes, lawn decorations, pumpkins, hay rides, leaves, the crisp air, and the free candy – it’s a wonderful time of the year! The first week of September is spent unboxing all of my Halloween stuff and spreading it around inside and outside of my house. I like to decorate early.

    I’ll start with the inside part – little pumpkins on the windowsills with fake leaves, spider webs dangling from the ceiling, candles in each room with scents like candy corn or apple cider donuts, and filling a giant bowl with all sorts of candies.

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  • Sally, the Mannequin

    Not very long ago, while out on a dumpster diving adventure, I found a mannequin. I thought this was pretty cool, so naturally, I pulled it out from the Old Navy dumpster and threw it into the car.

    I’m an artist, and I like to create new and different things—or at least I like to think that way. I’ve never worked on something like this before. I needed some ideas, and thank goodness for Pinterest.

    There’s not much with mannequins and custom creations, just some basic stuff that didn’t appeal to my eye. I wanted to create something that was unique and stood out from the rest.

    At first, I couldn’t think of a damn thing to do with it. I got bored one day while staring at it and decided to paint the whole thing one color. Blue as an ice-cold death.

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