Category Archives: blogger

Whatever Wednesday: When you ask Craigslist to solve writer’s block

The next time I struggle with writer’s block, this is the approach I’m taking. Not for serious value but for beyond hilarious comedic value.

So far, responses have ranged from serious to well, not so serious. Generally those who have responded seem to genuinely want to help me. Not all in the way I asked, but still. They want to help. Which is sweet. Sort of. Unless they’re wanting to exchange pictures and be more than friends. Then it’s disturbing because it makes me wonder if they are even capable of reading English. Or thinking of anything north of their equator if you know what I mean.

Pasted below are actual initial responses (in no particular order) to the writer’s block ad I posted. Also, in all fairness, I made it CLEAR I was a blogger in search of a topic. Everything was fair play.

No, I’m not telling you what or where I posted it nor am I linking to it. Enjoy.

Happy Wednesday.

1) seriously, if it is so hard to find something to write about then perhaps you shouldn’t write anything. i blogged for years and have only posted when i felt compelled to write. if you have a deadline then that’s a different issue. it really depends on what you NEED to write. (honestly the most awesome advice of the evening. SO very true.)

2) Well, what in the world is your blog about? You didn’t mention any topic! Politics? Religion? Fitness? Babies? Sex? Speaking of sex, here’s one for you from my personal life (which I probably shouldn’t be sharing): is it common for married women to stop having sex with their husbands?

Ok, so I gave you some type of topic to write about. (Yes, yes you have. But whoa. When you email people from Craigslist, you never know where your email will end up. Perhaps you shouldn’t email people on Craigslist to begin with, buddy. Just a thought.)

3) I could probably help or at least attempt to depending on the subject matter. I usually have spare ideas I’m not using for anything in particular

and I can be pretty decent when it comes to finding information on Google

but if that’s no help I can still be useful as a repository for obscure trivia.

like did you know attempting to sing “Be Prepared” in the lion king Jeremy Irons “threw out” his voice on the line “You wont get a sniff without me!”

and fellow cast member Jim Cummings had to fill in for him the rest of the song. (this one ended up telling me about a George Washington Shaped Chicken Nugget which sold for 8k on e-bay. When he said repository for obscure trivia? He wasn’t kidding.)

4) So, what do you write about generally? (I’m not even going to bore you with where this went)

5) You know, I was all gung-ho about helping you get to new ideas …

Until you mentioned psychoanalzying The Biebs and getting deep into one of his songs.

Then I realized that you already had enough genius for both of us.

But if you’d like someone to talk to while getting into that adorable boy’s mind, then I’d glady offer my services. As long as you understand why I’d go worked up over it .. I mean, come on … that hair. (this one led to a really awesome full on conversation about the Biebs, Elvis Presley, the Stones, The Beatles, confused HS kids, Shakira, and a whole bunch of other stuff. He’s awesome. Even more awesome than the Bieb’s hair.)

6) I doubt this will even reach you because I’m sure the second you posted that ad on Craigslist, your email inbox was swarmed by dozens of guys who are a dime a dozen. I’m not one of those guys. I’m 33, HWP, South American and very down to earth. Love to cook, soccer, the outdooors. I am fun, sarcastic, caring, friendly, athletic, well-educated & mannered. I reside in the ~~(redacted)~~area. Love to try new things, places, food, in this case friendships.If you read this and are interested AND you’re not a spambot, pls reply and we can go from there and exchange pics. (Umm.. okay, but Dude? I was asking for help with writing. In the Strictly Platonic section. I am NOT looking for a sexy latin ma.. oh.. wait.. HI. Just kidding. I deleted his email without responding after I copied the text here.)

7) maybe you could write about those homeless hotspots put on by sxsw…or even how commercial sxsw has become… (legitimate ideas, granted, and something I’d noticed via Twitter this past week. But not light enough for my Wednesday post. Thanks for playing.)

8 ) What exactly are you stuck on? (Bubble gum. Super glue. Batman? Harvey Dent….Can we trust him? Wonder-woman? That funny purple blob otherwise known as Barney? Taffy? Toe jam? Rubber Cement? Elmer’s Glue? That strange sticky stuff on the school bus seat?)

9) Well I;ve got brain tsunamis LOL I am crative, but run into the same problem sometimes. But I like the idea of being helpful. (Oh the cringe-worthiness of this one. Explain to me what “crative” is, please. Anyone? Bueller? Also, I don’t think we’re suffering from the same thing here. I know how to spell and use proper grammar.)

10) Yes, I would like to help you, do you use yahoo instant messenger or gchat? (maybe. but i’m already writing, also, why does your email address name show up as “tom green” when you’ve signed your name as something completely different? Be funny on your own without invoking the name of someone professionally hilarious.)

Postpartum Health Activist Writer’s Monthly Challenge 2012

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Hey y’all!

Over at WEGO Health, April is their Health Activist Writer’s Month. They host a 30 day writer’s challenge to go along with this month. When you sign up, you’ll get prompts via email for 30 days. If I remember correctly from last year, they do send them out in advance so you’re not scrambling to write posts at the last minute.

I will be writing a post a day for all 30 days. I hope you’ll join me in writing every day about health. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I’d love to see what you have to say about each of the topics, too. Of course, I’ll be spinning the topics to relate to Postpartum Mood Disorders. I really hope you’ll jump in here with me!

All you have to do to join is click the banner below to sign up and you’ll be able to start posting once April rolls around.

Looking forward to writing with you! Let’s make sure Postpartum Mood Disorders are well-represented!

My guest posts @ Sluiter Nation & Our Giggles & Grimaces

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This past week has been a very busy one for me – not only did I host #PPDChat and do all I do on Twitter, I also blogged here, worked a little more on my #PPDMD chat idea (I am SO EXCITED!), and wrote a couple of guest posts.

Katie Sluiter over at Sluiter Nation invited me to be an Official Sluiter Nation Recruit. Of course I accepted because Katie just rocks. You can read my post, “no private rooms” at her place here. She introduces me with the most awesome introduction ever. Moved me to tears, I tell you. (Thanks, Katie. And yes, I got your back if you need me again – without hesitation!)

Then Charity over at Our Giggles & Grimaces asked for guest posters too. Given that I’m her Greased Cat Yoga Instructor, I felt compelled to accept. I wrote about Self-care and a Mama’s Alarm clock. You should read it. Not just because I wrote it and therefore it’s awesome, but because well, yeah. It’s awesome. Plus, self-care. And hilariousness. Perfect for a Saturday morning, right?

So grab your coffee or sippy cup filled with OJ or apple juice and cruise on over to the guest posts I wrote this week!

Postpartum Voice of the Week: @ewokmama’s journey with jack

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Not too long ago, I was featured over in Band Back Together’s “Go to 11” series. I was honoured to be given the opportunity to share my story with the Band readers and community. It’s my turn to share Crystal’s story of PPD with her son Jack with you here at My Postpartum Voice. Crystal is an editor and board member over at the Band.

It takes courage to share your Postpartum story but as more and more of us refuse to be silenced by the stigma surrounding our journeys, the less hold stigma has on us. Thank you, Crystal, for sharing your story with us here.

I was terrified of my brand new baby.

I was working hard to try to breastfeed. I had read all the books, visited with the lactation consultant, and I still couldn’t figure out how to get him latched properly. My nipples were raw and bleeding. I quickly decided I hated breastfeeding, but I was stubborn and refused to admit defeat. I WOULD be the perfect mother and I would NOT fail.

As I latched Jack onto my breast again and gritted my teeth in pain, fear snuck into my brain. I suddenly feared my baby was evil and that he was hurting me on purpose. I resisted the urge to throw him from me, to shrink from his presence. I looked away from his eyes and tears ran down my face. I felt ridiculous – this was my baby, my son, not some gollum! How in the world could I fear my own child, an infant only a few days old?

I admit, I wasn’t sleeping well at night. My son would sleep for three hours at a time, which was pretty amazing for a newborn, but I had trouble nodding off because I worried I wouldn’t wake up if he cried. I needed to get to him the moment he stirred, or the crying would rip me apart – I would be cowing in a corner and crying myself. His crying was pure torture and if I couldn’t stop it, I would have to kill myself. I just COULD NOT handle it.

I had read about post-partum depression. In fact, I had had it after a miscarriage the prior year. My husband and I had talked about how I could avoid falling into that hole again. Knowing is half the battle, right?

Unfortunately, he went back to work a week after Jack was born and all our family members went back home. I was alone. I spent hours in our apartment by myself; we lived in a town far from family and the friends there were my husband’s. I didn’t know what to do with my kid. I was anxious when he was awake and I spent his naps worrying about when he would wake up.

Things improved when I joined a mother’s group, when I was able to get out of the house and hear about other mothers’ struggles. Still, I was too embarrassed, too ashamed to talk about my feelings toward my baby. I worried that if I admitted to feeling afraid of Jack, admitted to feeling like I needed to get away from him, someone would call Child Protective Services and my child would be taken away. Surely they would think I was too crazy and incompetent to be left in charge of a baby.

I wish I had reached out earlier. I wish I had contacted my OB much sooner, rather than waiting and living with these feelings. My early days with my son are a blur of fear, stress, and exhaustion; PPD overshadowed all the good moments. I did not enjoy my baby for nearly two years of his life and I regret that to this day.

If you struggle with these feelings, please reach out to someone. The community at Band Back Together can help – we have a wide variety of individuals who have survived PPD (and everything else on the mental illness spectrum). There are people who will understand what you are dealing with, who won’t judge you, and who can give you the support and kick in the pants to take control of your situation. You do not have to be alone.

Crystal, aka Ewokmama, is a re-married mother to one alien/superhero/transformer boy named Jack. She is an obsessive multi-tasker, making her the perfect Executive Assistant at a software firm in San Francisco. When not parenting her fierce and fuzzy ewok-child, Crystal can often be found tending to her Facebook game crops on the laptop while simultaneously dominating Words With Friends on her iPhone and explaining the family’s finances to her devastatingly handsome and uproariously funny husband (who didn’t help write this bio at all). Not to mention that she will be taste-testing cupcakes and sipping wine, as well.

As a trauma survivor learning to live a normalish life with Chronic Depression, PPD and PTSD, Crystal feels very strongly about the need to connect with others when experiencing difficulties in life. For this reason she has dedicated time to mentoring new mothers who are learning to breastfeed, sharing her own parenting struggles and triumphs on her own blog, Ewokmama.com, and becoming a member of Band Back Together.

Giving up BACON for Mothers & Babies

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