New Year, New Stuff Blog Giveaway

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I am going to do it. Yes. I. Am. I am going to have my very own blog giveaway. My first one actually. It was my mother’s idea to do this. In fact, she bought one of the prizes for this month’s giveaway. My hope is to attempt to have one a month this year. I am a little nervous though. After all, it is the first blog giveaway I have ever attempted.

I really like the items for this month’s giveaway, and I am sure you will too. Now on to the details…

What You Can Win:


These battery powered candles are covered in wax – giving them an authentic look and feel. You can place them in their very own rock garden – which is included. They flicker like real candles would. You can turn them off and on by simply blowing on them!


This is a hand made magnolia scented soap. Even the wrapper on this soap is as cute as can be. The front says “Morning On The Veranda”, and the back has a Scarlett O’Hara quote from Gone With The Wind.

How To Enter:

You can enter more than once! To  enter the contest, make a separate comment below for each qualified entry. (For example, if you subscribe to my newsletter, comment and let me know. If you like my Facebook page, comment and let me know for a second entry. And so on. Also, you get credit if you are already doing any of the following entry-worthy things. Just leave your comment(s) saying so. Please leave your email address in each of your comments. It will make it easier for me to contact you if are awarded the items.

MANDATORY ENTRY (comment once – worth 1 entry):

  • Comment on this post and tell me one goal you hope to accomplish in 2011

EXTRA ENTRIES (worth 1 entry each, but you must comment separately for each entry):

  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Subscribe  to the Sugar Filled Emotions Newsletter
  • Like Sugar Filled Emotions on Facebook
  • Follow me with Google Friend Connect – widget can be found on the right side of the blog.
  • Follow me with Networked Blogs – widget can be found on the right side of the blog
  • Tweet the following once daily: I just entered to win some great prizes on the Sugar Filled Emotions New Year, New Stuff Blog Give Away http://wp.me/p1fvoh-qV
  • Place the following in your Facebook Status once daily: I just entered to win some great prizes on the Sugar Filled Emotions New Year, New Stuff Blog Give Away http://wp.me/p1fvoh-qV

Contest ends January 31st, 11 pm EST. Winner will be drawn via random number generator. Anyone related to me is not eligible to participate in this giveaway.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Melissa Shell

Power Of Positive Words – I

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The power of positive words is life giving. They build me up, and provide me with encouragement. They have been known to empower me, giving me the confidence I need to face something difficult. Beginning with the letter A and ending it with Z….I am going to make a list of one word for each letter (A-Z) and include why this word makes me feel positively happy.

Interested – This word makes me feel positively happy because I enjoy being interested in the world around me. Checked out, there but not there, nobody is home, are just a few phrases that could be applied to my state of being during the time before I began depression treatment. I was not all that interested in what was going on, or who was involved in it. I tried to be, especially when my daughter was talking to me. More often than not, my mind would simply wander off while I was listening to her. Same thing would happen when I tried to read, listen to music, and even watch TV. Being interested in what is going on in the world, and my family makes my life more full, and interesting. Being interested makes me an active participant in life.

I would love to see what you come up with for the letter I!

My dear friend, Margaret of The World As I See It, began her own list of Positive Words. I encourage you to check it out! If you decide to do this exercise on your own blog, let me know. I would be more than happy to put up a link, directing people to it.

Seriously Blah!

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This picture is an accurate representation of how I have felt the last couple of days. I am exhausted. When I wake up, I feel like I have not gotten any sleep, and no amount of coffee is enough to get me moving. All I want to do is crawl under the blankets on my bed and not move. Of course, with the way things are sometimes, even my bed is not a total guarantee of rest. Night sweats have been plaguing me as well.

At first, I thought what I am feeling was totally due to being physically tired, and sore after all that furniture moving I did the other day. However, after thinking about it, I have come to believe that the way I am feeling is a combination of physical, and mental exhaustion. I do not think it would be inaccurate to say that part of what I am feeling is also the physical manifestation of a few depression symptoms. I think with all the emotional ups, and downs – as well as dealing with someone else’s irrational behavior – what I am feeling is probably normal.

Just because it is normal, does not mean it feels good. I really dislike this complete, and total exhausted feeling. I do realize that it is a sign that I need to do a few things to get myself back to feeling like I want to. Now that Christmas and New Year’s are over, I think life will slow down a bit. I will use that time to re-energize. I will work very hard to surround myself with positive thoughts, and people. I am also going to continue taking steps to eliminate the extreme drama that is going on as a result of “other people’s behavior”.

Blah!

Power Of Positive Words – H

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The power of positive words is life giving. They build me up, and provide me with encouragement. They have been known to empower me, giving me the confidence I need to face something difficult. Beginning with the letter A and ending it with Z….I am going to make a list of one word for each letter (A-Z) and include why this word makes me feel positively happy.

Hope – This word makes me feel positively happy, because having hope – in the face of difficulties – is life altering. I have been hopeless. It is a very lonely, and sad experience. It is also very scary. For me, having no hope means that there is nothing good, positive, wonderful, and peaceful about life. Once I began to have hope, everything – and I mean everything – began to change. Life was no longer a burden to bear. I was no longer half way between death and life. Hope has added flavor, and zest to my life.

I would love to see what you come up with for the letter H!

My dear friend, Margaret of The World As I See It, began her own list of Positive Words. I encourage you to check it out! If you decide to do this exercise on your own blog, let me know. I would be more than happy to put up a link, directing people to it.

Making It My Own

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New Year’s Eve was a very busy day for me. I organized my room, moved a great deal of furniture around, and helped my son carry a couple of things I wanted in my room. I decided that while I was doing all of that, I would decorate my room and “make it my own”, turn it into a comfortable place for me to hang out in. Fortunately, my mother has loads of stuff around her house that can be used to decorate – if you think creatively. I did run into a couple of challenges, so the moving project took a bit longer than I intended.

The most horrible thing I moved was the bed. Seriously! Whoever put it together, forgot to put the wheels/sliders on the feet of the bed frame. I went to move it – pushing as hard as I could – and realized that the top mattress was moving, but the bed frame was not. I had a jarring stop, and now my back and my left knee are hurting me. Advil is helping take the edge off of the pain.

While I was organizing my room, I realized something about myself. I can create an immense amount of clutter in a short period of time! At least it is picked up…for now. Another thing I realized is that I am not quite as young as I used to be, and my body is letting me know that. The third thing I realized is that creating my own space did me a world of good. In some ways, I have felt like I have had little control over my life lately. I have been feeling emotionally battered, and bruised. I have felt frustrated, anxious, and sad. Although I did have a room to go to in order to spend some time alone – recharging myself, – it was not working efficiently. Organizing things, doing away with the clutter, and creatively decorating it has allowed me to create a space that will help me recharge emotionally, and mentally when I need to.

Here are a few pictures of my newly decorated room:

My Bed


The Scuba Diver is me, around 16 years old


Put some sheer fabric and silver stars around the room


I got the wooden shoes, next to the book shelf, when I was 9, and visiting Amsterdam


55 Gallon Fish Tank, needs more gravel, AND fish


Water Fountain, and flowers

Power Of Positive Words – G

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The power of positive words is life giving. They build me up, and provide me with encouragement. They have been known to empower me, giving me the confidence I need to face something difficult. Beginning with the letter A and ending it with Z….I am going to make a list of one word for each letter (A-Z) and include why this word makes me feel positively happy.

Grateful – This word makes me feel positively happy because I have discovered that I have many things to be grateful for. For so long my life was miserable, and I could see nothing good about it. When I began therapy, my counselor gave me a home work assignment that entailed me finding at least three good things about every situation. Part of what I discovered while doing this exercise is that many of the positive/good things in my life, are things that I am grateful for.

I would love to see what you come up with for the letter G!

Power Of Positive Words – F

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The power of positive words is life giving. They build me up, and provide me with encouragement. They have been known to empower me, giving me the confidence I need to face something difficult. Beginning with the letter A and ending it with Z….I am going to make a list of one word for each letter (A-Z) and include why this word makes me feel positively happy.

Friend-This word makes me feel positively happy because I have a friend! In fact I have several friends. I was never a person who made friends easily, and I lost what few friends I had during my years of severe depression. In the last year and a half I have relearned social skills, and gained a few new ones. As a result, I have slowly built up a network of friends that I value a great deal.

Tuesday Was THE Day

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Tuesday was THE day that I went back to my house in an attempt to get the last of my belongings. I wish it had gone better. It was a difficult day – made even more difficult –  due to the drama that unfolded.  I did not go there with the intent of starting or being a part of unnecessary  drama, however, I should not have been surprised that it happened. Drama has been a major part of things.
I have done my best to keep any drama to a bare minimum, but it has been difficult. My husband has been lashing out from a place of bitterness, anger, and pain, and as a result has created unnecessary drama, and hurt feelings. He is still raging about my father calling him, and trying to convey some concerns he had for me to my husband. He has made it clear that my son is not welcome anywhere near him. He even went so far as to tell me he had changed the locks on the house. I did find out that he had lied to me about the locks.
When we started discussing when I would come get the rest of my things, he went off on several tirades about how I was the only one allowed to come. My father and/or son were not allowed. I insisted that my father was going to come with me. When THE day came to get my things, my father got a neighbor – a man about my age – to help us. My dad is in his late 60’s and is not capable of carrying heavy things himself, and I am a wimp. My mother and I had discussed whether or not we should have some sheriff’s deputies with us, and I made the decision to not do that. I was trying to avoid traumatizing my daughter anymore than she has already been.
As soon as my husband saw that we had someone else with us, he became hostile and started threatening to call the sheriff’s department . I told him that if he wanted to do that, he should go ahead. He did not. We began to get my things. Every time my father and the man he got to help us were outside, my husband and daughter would being very mean. They would say things that hurt my feelings and my daughter was extremely rude. During one of my trips outside – to put a box in the truck – I called my mother. I really needed to vent about the things my husband and daughter were saying. She reminded me that my daughter should not – under any circumstances – speak to me the way she was doing.
After speaking with my mother, I went back inside to get a few more items. My daughter was near me, my husband was all the way across the house. My daughter continued to say inappropriate things to me. I raised my voice and said something to the effect of “I do not care what is going on, you will not talk to me that way”. Immediately my husband yelled at me and responded with “She can talk to you any way she wants to”. Right after that he went outside. It was not until I took another box outside, and saw two deputies pull up, that I realized he had called the sheriff’s department to send a deputy to the house. I stayed outside, and spoke to the deputies. I did not go into any great details with them, but I did give them a basic run down on what was going on. I also told them that my husband called them after I had told my daughter to not speak to me rudely. They wanted to know who was with me, and I introduced them to my father and his neighbor.
As I was going back inside, my husband came out. The deputies began to speak to him. As much as I wanted to stand there and listen in on their conversation I did not. I did hear a few things as I was going back and forth from the house and the truck. The gist of the conversation they had with my husband was that they were unsure of why he called them out there since there was nothing bad going on. The tone of their voices sounded rather irritated. In the end, he told them that he was on probation, and felt that he needed a ‘witness” so that we could not accuse of him of anything. One deputy left, one stayed. The deputy that stayed did not say I had to hurry up, but I also know they are busy, and do not have the time to be standing around for nonsense. So my dad, and I agreed to finish things up more quickly than we had planned.
It was good that the deputy was there. It put a stop to the ugly things that my daughter and husband were saying. Unfortunately, because of having to hurry up I was not able to get some of the things I really wanted, and I forgot something that meant a lot to me. While the deputy was standing there I asked my husband if we could make arrangements for me to get anything I had to leave behind. He said “yes”. I hope he follows through with it.
As I was leaving, my daughter gave me a beautiful blanket. I asked her if I could give her a hug. She said “yes”. When I hugged her she stood there as stiff as a board. It broke my heart, and that is when I cried. It hurts to think of her being so unhappy. I wish her father would quit putting her in the middle of our mess.
It was a hard day. I felt stressed, anxious, and sad for most of it. However, I did get through it. I am so blessed to have people I can lean on during hard times like that. Between my  mom, and a couple of other people I spoke with on the phone, and my internet friends, I felt supported, and cared for. That made one of the hardest days in my life easier to bear.

Power Of Positive Words – E

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The power of positive words is life giving. They build me up, and provide me with encouragement. They have been known to empower me, giving me the confidence I need to face something difficult. Beginning with the letter A and ending it with Z….I am going to make a list of one word for each letter (A-Z) and include why this word makes me feel positively happy.

Encouragement – This word makes me feel positively happy because encouragement is all about building someone – or yourself – up. It is something we do to support each other. When someone takes the time to provide you with encouragement, it usually means on some level they care about you, and knowing that people care about you is bound to make anyone feel positively happy.

I would love to see what positive words you come up with for the letter E!

Power Of Positive Words – D

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Recently, I joined/liked a face book page called Mental Health. I really have enjoyed it because it is very active, and is full of positive thoughts, questions to ponder, and encouragement. Not long ago, they posted a great exercise that I decided to duplicate on my blog. This is what it is…

“The power of positive words is life giving. Beginning with the letter A and ending it with Z….can we make a list of one word for each letter (A-Z) and include WHY this word makes YOU feel positively happy?”

I have decided that I am going to try to post a different letter/word every day – starting with the letter A – and explain why the word makes me feel positively happy. I might even start over from A again after I reach the end of the alphabet.

Different – This word makes me feel positively happy because I have learned that life CAN be DIFFERENT. I do not have to live a life in which I hate myself, want to die, and am so depressed that I cannot get dressed. I do not have to spend my days crying, full of anger, and worry.  I am entitled to live as full of a life as I can – just like everyone else. My life is DIFFERENT now. Even through the tough times, I enjoy life. I can see that there are so many wonderful, and beautiful things in my life, and in the world around me. On the hard days, I have tools and support – that I never believed existed – to help me make different choices. Different is GOOD!

I would love to see what positive words you come up with for the letter D!