My only issue with Canva is that there isn’t a “review this product” or “review this order” feature. Or at least not one that is easy to find. I tried to find a way to leave them a review on google but couldn’t figure it out, so here I am! 🤷♀️
I used Canva once in 2020 to update a preschool newsletter. I didn’t really have any clue what I was doing or how to move anything around, so I just replaced the text and photos in the locations they were already in.
On March 16, I decided to use Canva to make a slideshow for my new mental health prescriber. She loved it! It was super easy to make using their templates. I also used Canva to make new business cards, labels, and a banner for my mom’s business. That’s not even what I’m here to review today, though.
If you follow me on socials, you may have noticed that I’ve been talking about Andy Grammer a lot lately and the MASSIVE impact that going to his concert had on me. He didn’t sell merch at the concert and I really wanted something to commemorate it, so I decided I’d try my hand at making a poster on Canva. I had to google how to do a couple of things, but it was relatively easy to figure out. I ordered two 18×24 posters- one to hang on my wall and one to try to pass along to Andy at his Asheville show coming up in July. I wasn’t sure how they would turn out. Even though I was in the front row and my photos looked crisp on my phone, I was concerned the image and text on the posters may be blurry. Particularly because they only cost $11 each and I’ve found the adage “you get what you pay for” to be very true when printing images.
Imagine my surprise when they arrived today looking STUNNING. I had already purchased a frame from my local Michael’s for about $15. I’ve got the command picture hanger on the wall (I have to wait I think 24 hours before actually hanging the poster for best results). I cannot wait to hang this poster up!
For $26- I have a custom, framed poster from a concert that was one of the most important events I’ve ever gone to in my life. I put the other poster in a mailing tube already to keep it safe. I don’t have photos of the poster outside of the frame. I do, however, have the image I used to print to poster. There are some photos at the bottom.
Basically, I just want y’all to know that Canva is AWESOME and I would definitely recommend them- not just for your design needs but for your printing needs as well. It’s easy to use for design (and easy to google the aspects that are slightly more complex) and the quality of the printing is excellent.
The poster I created as a digital file.Poster as printedPoster as printed
I used to be really terrible at setting boundaries. Someone at one point (not so lovingly) called me “Lady No Bo.” Not that I’m super great at it now, but I’m actively working on it and have been improving. In a recent therapy group I participated in, the facilitator reminded us that while some people can grow and some change is possible, adults that we know are very unlikely to change in substantial ways unless they are actively and purposefully trying and it would be helpful to most people if they could adjust their expectations of those around them accordingly instead of wishing or hoping the other people would change.
The facilitator also discussed that nonverbal boundaries are a totally valid thing. There are many things you shouldn’t necessarily have to explicitly state as boundaries. Like “don’t touch me without my consent”, “don’t use dehumanizing language about groups I’m a part of in front of me”, “don’t comment on decisions I make about how to spend my own money when you already know (because I have voiced) that it is incredibly triggering to me.” Some of these things I have stated explicitly to people. Some of these things have been implied. The rejection or dismissal of them have been reasons I have decided to give up on friendships or other relationships. As I’ve grown to learn more things about myself and the way my brain works, it makes sense that I participate in a lot of black and white thinking, though I am trying to learn to live more in the gray. That doesn’t mean compromising my values and it doesn’t mean spending time with people who consistently make me feel bad about myself and make me question my self-worth. Unless it was for my own mental or physical safety, I wouldn’t totally write someone off the first time they violated a boundary. But after repeated boundary violations? After they try to tell me how I identify is wrong or unnatural? After they have caused me significant emotional distress? Yeah, I’m 100% able and willing to walk away from friendships and relationships then at this point in my life.
I spent most of my life letting people walk all over me, squeezing myself tinier and tinier to try to take up less space, trying not to inconvenience people, and trying to manage the emotions of everyone around me. I’m trying to learn not to do any of those things anymore, but it is a process. Something shifted in a really big way for me around friendships while I was in residential treatment. For the first time, I felt like I was making multiple friendships with people who truly see me and love me exactly as I am without me having to change. I no longer felt like I had to hustle for worthiness in my friendships and decided that I no longer would. There are friends from before treatment all this was already true of, though there aren’t many of them. Developing friendships with people who see me, get me, understand all I’ve been through, respect my boundaries, and help me to be a better version of myself has been life changing.
Since residential when my views about friendships changed, I have been able to develop deep, mutually respectful, mutually supportive friendships with people who care about me and love me exactly as I am, flaws and all. The friendships I had before treatment that I still have feel better and healthier to me. In the past, I stayed in relationships or friendships out of a sense of obligation, even when those relationships and friendships were making me feel bad about myself or making me feel bad in general. If someone shows you for multiple years that they aren’t putting the same care, time, dedication, and love into your friendship or relationship that you are, believe them. That person is very unlikely to change. And until they did, I would have no interest in rekindling a romantic or friend relationship with any of them. I have also become more comfortable with doing things by myself! Last year, I traveled to see Dan+Shay twice by myself and those concerts were two of the best nights of my life. I danced and sang like no one was watching because no one I knew was! (Let’s be totally honest- meeting Dan both times definitely didn’t hurt either!). Tonight, I’m going to see BAILEN all by myself and I am so excited! I’m also still looking forward to several upcoming concerts with friends and family who I love who I know won’t judge me for singing at the top of my lungs or dancing my heart out or crying tears of overwhelm and joy.
It’s best to believe people when they show you who they are, whether that means they are actively working on becoming better, more supportive, more direct, more honest, more authentic, more vulnerable, more kind, more compassionate, more empathetic, etc etc etc. or it means that they don’t care about your feelings, are dismissive when you try to talk to them about things that are important to you, or are just plain mean. I turn 34 years old this month. I am not the same person I was when I was 12 or 17 or 24 or 26 or 30 or even 32. I have actively tried to become a better person and have worked very hard to no longer be the mean girl I was in middle school, the judgmental jerk I was in high school, the person who let everyone walk all over them in college, the person who allowed “friends” to make me feel awful in graduate school just because I wanted so desperately to belong (one person actually said to me that I talk too much about myself and would make a bad therapist. I later found out that I’m neurodivergent and that my style of relating to people by sharing something similar I’ve gone through is very common in neurodivergent folks. Also, I wouldn’t have related to people the same way as a school counselor or therapist. I was talking with someone who I thought was a friend. BIG YIKES on thinking they were my friend) , or the person who allowed others to correct me when I tried to express aspects of my identity or who tolerated being around people who made me uncomfortable or who tolerated snide remarks and sarcastic comments for the sake of preserving a friendship.
All that said, I’m making a table of the things I ideally want in my friendships and romantic relationships and in both. The thing that is great about this list is that it’s a living document. By that, I mean it can grow and change with me as what I am willing to accept and what I’m not willing to accept shifts and changes. This is also a list of how I aspire to show up in my friendships and relationships. I know I’m not a perfect friend/ partner/ family member.
Friendships
Romantic Relationships
Both
Doesn’t make derogatory comments about my identity
Knowledgeable about/ respectful of consent
Kind
Respects that I am an adult capable of making my own decisions
Doesn’t want kids
Treats others (and me) with dignity
Doesn’t manipulate to try to get needs met
Loves to travel
Respectful
Gives as much as they take
Intelligent
Honest
Understands or is willing to learn to understand trauma responses
Wants to (eventually) get married
Practices vulnerability
Cares about human rights
Practices authenticity
Bonus:
Values intimacy
Approaches things with non-judgment/ curiosity
Desire to make the world a better place
Passionate
Accountable
Willing to go to therapy/ has gone to therapy
Compatible beliefs about finances
Appreciates differences
Similar values
Desire to make the world a better place
Open-minded
Similar interests
Openness to new ideas
Progressive
Dependable
Confident in our relationship (not jealous)
Respectful of boundaries
Similar experiences
Willing to go to therapy/ has gone to therapy
LGBTQIA+ Friendly
Practices monogamy
Willing to repair when there is rupture
Similar/ compatible core values
Funny
Dependable
Reliable
Similar Interests
Say what they mean and mean what they say
Make me feel peaceful, safe, and happy
Communicates kindly but directly
Values fat liberation
Trustworthy
Not involved with organized religion
Loyal
Dog person
Doesn’t share secrets (except with their therapist- I would be ok with that)
Has an understanding of neurodivergent folks or a willingness to learn
Willing to learn how my diagnoses affect me
Respectful of privacy
Respects my special interests even if they don’t share them
Willing to learn from each other
Responds rather than reacts
Believes I am worthy of love, belonging, kindness, and dignity
Feels safe to me
People in their inner circle feel safe to me
Makes a sincere attempt to not use ableist or fatmisic language in my presence
Does not use homophobic, racist, xenophobic, transphobic, antisemitic, or other hateful language in my presence
Loves animals
This is what has been on my mind and on my heart. I know I haven’t written anything of substance in quite a while. I’ve been having a really hard time focusing due to being in a mixed episode (symptoms of both mania and depression) for several weeks and a very lengthy depressive episode prior to that. I would really appreciate if you could please send me thoughts of stability and healing!
My health insurance company notified me that there is a portal where I can get discounts on certain items. I went to check it out and saw this bag that I thought would be PERFECT for my Glencoe hike. It’s water resistant, made out of ocean impact plastic (so it’s environmentally conscious, which is important to me), it’s a great size (17-24” expandable x 13” x 16”), and it’s available in all sorts of cool colors. I have not received any compensation or perks for writing this review. I just wanted to share my honest opinion.
I was disappointed when I saw they were $149 because that was way out of my price range. After clicking through different colors, I found a PURPLE one (my favorite color!) on sale for $74! With my BCBS discount code, it came to $55.50 with taxes and shipping, which I must tell you is a STEAL for this bag.
I was so upset when UPS told me the package was lost because the sale was over, the color I purchased was out of stock, and I had already used my one time discount code. I opened an investigation with UPS yesterday or the day before and the package magically arrived today!
GOT BAG rolltop lite in blackGOT BAG rolltop lite in jellyfish
I was worried that I would hate the texture due to it being made of recycled plastic, but the material actually feels very nice and not rubbery at all. Because it’s a rolltop and is water resistant, I feel really good about using it as my day pack in rainy Scotland. The back is padded for extra comfort and there is a detachable sleeve that fits up to a 15” laptop or tablet.
I want to use it as my personal item for my flight, so I did a test run to see if I could fit everything I need in it. I also added my iPad case (I was using my iPad to film) to make sure it would fit somewhere. I will have room to spare!
Here is a link to a video of me fitting all my stuff in the bag! I’ll try to also embed the video. It was taking too long 😂:
I haven’t carried this around for a long time yet, so I can’t speak to comfort over time, but it’s very comfortable for short durations and I will update with more info after taking it on a hike. I would say that even at $149, this bag would be worth it. I’m so glad I was able to get mine so cheap so that I know about the quality of the bag and can plan in the future if I want to purchase the full size rolltop for $159 (only $10 more!). I didn’t want the full size for myself at this time because I wanted to be able to use this as my personal item when I travel to Scotland. I’m so grateful I was able to purchase something more sustainable than a cheap daypack from Amazon!
3,288 days ago, on January 4, 2014, I met my best friend and the great love of my life. Sweet Jennifer Full Simms rode with me all the way to Winston-Salem to pick up River Love Dillon Cottam. On the way home, we tried to put her in a pop up crate in the back seat, but she was NOT having it. She spent the 3+ hour car ride sleeping in Auntie Jennifer’s lap instead.
Over the course of the past 9 years (and one day!), River has gone from beloved pet to indispensable service dog back to a beloved pet in her retirement. She has brought me more joy, laughter, and love than I could possibly ever express using the limited language I have available to me.
River was just under 11 weeks old when she came home. A few weeks before Christmas 2013, a therapist at Mission’s Intensive Outpatient Program (shoutout to Robin!) told me that I should get a dog to give me a reason to get out of bed and keep to a schedule due to the depression, mania, and mixed symptoms I was experiencing at the time. I was, of course, IMMEDIATELY on board with this plan. The first dog I ever had was an Airedale Terrier named Marble and I had known for a long time that when it was time for me to get my own dog, I wanted another Airedale.
I spoke with breeders in Kentucky and in Winston-Salem, NC. I found out that the Airedales from the Kentucky breeder were Oorang Airedales, bred to be larger than your typical Airedale (100 lbs +). After speaking with my vet, I decided I didn’t want an Oorang Airedale because of their shortened lifespan and predisposition to certain medical conditions. (Important to note- I didn’t realize this when I got River, but she does have an Oorang Airedale in her lineage as is shown on her pedigree. That’s likely why she weighs 80 lbs. when our last Airedale weighed only 62).
Lillard Kennels in Winston-Salem had a litter of puppies that would be ready to be separated from their mother at the end of December. When I spoke with Keith Lillard on the phone from my Granny’s house in Memphis, TN, he told me that he had a female puppy who had a skin infection that left her with a bald spot on her tail. He informed me that she would be half priced because she could never be a show dog. I immediately said, “I’ll take that one” and immediately placed a deposit. This couldn’t have possibly worked out any better for me in the long run! I explained that I would be out of town and unable to pick up my puppy until January 4th and Keith reassured me that it would be totally fine to wait until then.
River (left) with one of her siblings.
I knew that I would love my dog, but I had no idea just how much I would love my dog and how much my dog would love me. I named River after River Tam from Firefly (tv show) and River Song from Doctor Who (tv show), two badass sci-fi women. Several years ago, I promised River that I would never ever leave her by choice. There have been multiple times since then that this promise saved my life. River is, without a doubt, the best thing that has ever happened to me.
Many of you will already know this, but while I was in the Peace Corps, I got super depressed after a series of pretty awful events. I was so depressed that I was suicidal. On October 20, 2013, my friend and fellow PCV told me that if I didn’t call the medical office and tell them what I was going through, she would. I called and spoke to Arlene and she was wonderful. She had me come into Pretoria the same day. What I didn’t and couldn’t know at the time was that on that day, when I finally said, “I can’t do this alone. I need help.”- River was born. I’m not really religious and consider myself agnostic. I also don’t believe that a coincidence this huge could happen. Both/And. The exact day that I admitted I needed help, help arrived on this Earth in the form of a teenie tiny little Airedale Terrier puppy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina who would change my life forever.
River (I know you can’t read and I’ll read this aloud to you as soon as I finish typing it), you are hands down the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are gentle and playful and loving and beautiful and funny and loyal. You are the goodest, bestest, sweetest, prettiest, cleverest, gentlest and Mom loves you the mostest. Every moment that I get to spend with you is a gift. You have brought so much love and joy into my life. I am so proud to be your mom. I am so proud to love you. (I got some kisses when I read this to her, then she went back to sleep.)
Here are a variety of photos from throughout River’s life for your viewing pleasure:
Pit stop at a gas station on the way home from Winston-Salem the day we picked River up.River has loved sticks for her whole life.Coach River. Not pictured: when she fell into the pool and Grandad and the swimmers had to help her get out.River with her favorite boy.Lobbying for Amnesty International.With Grandad.Checking out Granny’s cat, Honey.River with her favorite boy.River with Granny.River and her new cousin, Dakota.My very favorite photo ever taken of me.
To start, working with Carrie at CAK Creations was SUCH a positive experience. I had found some bags I wanted to use and asked each of the people attending the concert with me what their favorite Taylor Swift lyric was. Carrie was able to custom create each of the vinyl lyric stickers I wanted. She matched the fonts of the lyrics to the album they were from and we collaborated to select colors for each sticker. She used permanent vinyl and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out! Before she shipped them, I asked if it was possible for her to recreate the Eras Tour logo as a sticker as well and she was able to. After she had made all of my beautiful stickers, she shipped them in an awesome silver holographic mailer and they arrived within a couple days. Shipping was really fast and they were very safely packaged between two pieces of cardboard within the bubble mailer.
There will be lots of photos below and I want to make extra sure you have access to Carrie’s site, so I’m going to link it again here: https://cakcreationsco.company.site/products/
If I were to give CAK Creations/Carrie a rating, it would be 10/10! She was a dream to work with, her products are well made and look great, and she made the collaboration process very fun. Her stuff is also very reasonably priced! This is not an ad, I have not received anything in exchange for my honest review, and I do not know Carrie personally. She was just that wonderful to work with!
I am going to the Nissan Stadium in Nashville and their bag policy is that you can have a clear bag up to 12 inches x 12 inches x 6 inches.
I bought four of these clear bags from Walmart for $10.99 each plus shipping (https://www.walmart.com/ip/342498896) They are 8.27 inches x 8.27 inches by 2.95 inches:
Now you’re going to see the awesome stickers Carrie created! Here is the logo sticker:
For each bag, I’m putting the large The Eras Tour sticker on the back, then putting a lyric sticker underneath the flap in the front!
This is what the lyrics stickers look like. The grid is the transfer tape and will not be on the final products! There are only four of us going and four bags, but I just couldn’t pick my favorite lyrics so I ordered several extras!
Here is what I did for each bag (with guidance from Carrie, who is AMAZING):
Step 1: Open each bag so the back will be the right shape. The bags were kind of pressed together for shipping by the third party retailer from Walmart.
Step 2: Slide a piece of cardboard into the bag. This will help stabilize the bag and will make it easier to attach the stickers.
Step 3: Wipe the area where the sticker is going to go with isopropyl alcohol. ALLOW IT TO DRY COMPLETELY.
Step 4: Peel the backing off of the Eras Tour logo stickers.
Step 5: Line the sticker up with the edges of the bag and try to get it as straight as possible.
Step 6: Gently place the sticker. I started at the bottom then slowly moved up the sticker. I then just kind of ran my debit card up and down on the Eras Tour sticker to make sure it was on the bag well.
Step 7: At this point I realized it would be smart and make my life easier to cut a piece of cardboard for the front pocket of the bag also. So I did that and placed it in the pocket. I removed the big cardboard piece from the main pocket of the bag just in case that would somehow interfere.
Step 8: Repeat step 3 on the front of the bag under the flap. Wipe the area where the sticker is going to go with isopropyl alcohol. ALLOW IT TO DRY COMPLETELY.
Step 9: Place the vinyl lyrics sticker on a hard flat object. Rub a credit card/debit card/ something similar over the top of the transfer tape to ensure the letters are all on the transfer tape.
Step 10: SLOWLY peel the transfer tape and vinyl sticker off of the backing paper. Start from a corner and ensure each letter is on the transfer tape before moving on.
Step 11: Place the vinyl lyrics sticker as close to the center as you can (or wherever you would like for it to be placed.).
Step 12: Run your credit card/debit card/ something similar over the transfer tape, taking care with each letter to make sure it is attaching to the bag.
Step 13: Starting from a corner, gently peel the transfer tape off of the vinyl lyrics sticker, ensuring each letter is being left behind on the bag.
Step 14: Remove the cardboard from the inside pocket and take a photo to show people!
Repeat with other bags and stickers until you have attached all the stickers you want on your bags. Wait 72 hours before using the bag or moving it around too much so the adhesive has time to set!
Some of you may say, “those bags look like they were made by an amateur!” To that, I would say, “well yeah, I don’t exactly have a ton of experience applying vinyl stickers to stadium bags.” Carrie did not place the vinyls for me. She just created and mailed me the stickers. If you hate them, that’s cool, but I don’t really need to hear about it because I tried my best!
“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” 