My Wife Is An Absolute Trooper!

For anyone who doesn't know, my wife is the most absolute trooper ever!

You may ask... "Why is your wife so awesome? What makes her so tough and amazing?" Well first of all, she's pregnant; that's enough right there that she has to go through that process and make it out the other side! Let me tell you it was pretty bad with the first one on the way how sick my dearly beloved Carley was feeling each and every day... pretty much like morning sickness on crack! This one will be our second child together and oh my goodness, I didn't possibly think it could ever get worse!

It's a special thing when your wife isn't able to get around and do as much as she wants to... not because it's hard to move around when pregnant, but because she's just so sick that she can't get out of bed without puking almost every morning. Medications don't make the sickness go away; they only serve to make her tired and keep her locked in bed like a caged animal instead of spending good time with her family as she would prefer to do. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through that each and every day, but I would gladly share the burden with her if I could even up to the point of taking the full sickness upon myself if for nothing else than to give her a much needed break.

Now of course we can't be sure of the final result, but perhaps the reason for the increased sickness is due to this child being larger than the last? Our first daughter was quite small... I believe 4th percentile if I remember correctly? And... based on the ultrasound results from recently, this one MIGHT.... be around the 94th percentile mark. Of course there's still a few months to go before we find out the end result, so maybe that size will level out to be closer to her older sister, but I do still think that an increased size may be the cause.

So here I am trying to help out by doing dishes, laundry, transport the child to daycare, and make enough money to get by... only hoping that I'm able to do a fraction of what needs to be done to make it all the way. I can't imagine where I'd be without such a tough woman in my life right beside me each and every day.... that I wake up in bed.

Wish us luck with our upcoming second child. I've heard it gets more difficult when more come along and I haven't yet figured out whether I'm excited or scared for what's in store for us.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

UPDATE

Back to Family / Life

One-Year Content Production Challenge =1=

     Finally the anticipation can be put to rest and you are about to find out what it is that's going to be happening in the coming months. I've been wanting to make something good out of the content I create on my blog, YouTube, and Twitch for some time now, but something always distracts me or gets in the way. So, in the spirit of my content hero whom I watch all the time who goes by LethalFrag online, I have decided I am going to do a one-year content production challenge.

     I would love to commit to this being specifically a live-streaming challenge, but unfortunately I'm just not so sure at this point whether or not that would be possible; so instead I'm committing to content production. I will do my best to live-stream as often as possible throughout, but when I'm unable to do so, I'll at least make a blog post every day. If you're ever interested in checking everything that's been done, I'll keep a daily list with links on a page called One-Year Content Production Challenge.

     Will this be difficult to find the time to do something every day even if it's just a simple post saying "Hi" for the day? Yes, absolutely... but I need something personal to keep myself busy and really show that this hobby of mine is something important that I put a lot of effort into. I know it can be great if only I put in the real effort to do so. Have I talked to Carley about this? No... she'll be finding out about this as she reads it just like everybody else. (Sorry babe)

     Perhaps this entire idea will be a huge flop, but hey... we're in a time when finding a new job is quite difficult and I do have the time to keep up with this even if I sometimes don't think I really do. I appreciate each and every one of you who support me through this and I welcome all of your criticism on how I can make everything better in the future. Keep an eye out for daily updates on news, gaming, personal projects, reviews of movies, food, and much more.

As usual, you're all fantastic, and I hope you all have the best days ever! ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== Mind Over Matter ===

I've come to realize that everything I do is a matter off the mind. For some time now I've been searching for ways to improve my productivity. As it turns out, that answer has been under my nose this whole time. Or should I say... behind it.

There are all sorts of things online claiming they can improve your mental focus and clarity. Do any of them work? Maybe... but are they really worth the money? I don't think so. See, there's an alternative which I think many people forget about; including myself. That option is quite simply.... doing it.

I sort of had this epiphany a couple nights ago when I forced myself to go to my computer late at night rather than laying down on the couch and falling asleep. I ended up staying up all night streaming on twitch and felt great after that I had done something fun and productive. In fact, I felt so great about it that I then enthusiastically cleaned up the kitchen and prepared for the day. This was accomplished because I made a decision to do something.

It can be quite difficult to tell your body to do these things when it is do exhausted, but it can be done if you put your mind to it... As long as your brain isn't out of juice as well. Yes, things like caffeine can help; I prefer to avoid needing any though if I can help it. Although... there is a real spectacular boost when you're able to effectively combine both caffeine and brain power.

I've seen people shut down no matter how much they want to keep going... including myself. The biggest hurdle really is resisting what the body is asking for and instead doing what YOU want to do.

So what do you say? Will you join me in putting your mind over matter?

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== October 2017 Recap - Getting Into The Groove ===

     Alright, so I've decided around the beginning of each month from now on I'm going to give some kind of recap as to how things are going with my blog and sometimes with myself as well.

     This past month I only made two posts and my total views has gone down a little which says to me that I need to get back on the posting train so that I can continue to make something of my site. I have a lot of good ideas in mind to post about so here's hoping I can find the time and energy to actually get to work on these things. There's so much that I can do with this to let everybody know about my thoughts and even to share my ideas on current events in the world which could one day grow into something pretty big if people find me entertaining enough.

     The hardest part is finding places and people who are interested enough in my content that the word gets around. I don't personally know many people and I'm not really part of any groups so it can be difficult to get in touch or find people who actually want to engage with my content and spread it around. That's where I'm hoping someone out there will share these stories or tell others about my work just to take that quick second to share something.

     I also greatly appreciate any comments people leave on my posts whether it's something telling me I'm doing a good job, or an insightful question, or any kind of feedback at all. Let me know you're listening! You shouldn't even have to sign up to make a comment at the bottom of each of my posts.

Keep being wonderful everybody! ^_^

~ Kyle

=== When Are The Ducks Coming? ===

     I know it's a little bit early to look forward to the ducks coming back, but I think we're looking forward to spending our second spring and summer in Moose jaw. One of our favourite things to do in the nice weather is feed the ducks all of our large supply of bread. The beautiful place in Moose Jaw known as Crescent Park is a lovely place with a man-made waterfall contraption which takes the water from the bottom of the park and pushes it out a waterfall at the top. Along this sort of man-made river quite a bit of wildlife has actually made their homes here including ducks, groundhogs, and even a beaver.

     As much of a homebody I tend to be, I do enjoy getting out for adventures and things sometimes. It'll be a little bit more difficult now with our baby in tow, but I'm sure we'll still manage anyways. I still have plans for us to get out and go on some hikes and things and get some nice fresh outside in our lungs. I know it's quite surprising for a person such as myself (who would generally much prefer to sit in a dark hole and play games rather than go on a road trip) to enjoy going outside on adventures. Who knows, maybe I'll let Carley take me camping one day?

     In the mean time, I think we'll just make more trips to the park and enjoy ourselves in the beautiful weather and throw pieces of bread at the birds. Now that I think about it though, we should make some more trips over to the dog park. Moose Jaw has a dog park split into a small dog side and a large dog side. We've driven by there before, but we haven't yet had a chance to go there on a nice day when there are other people there. I think it would be really good for Furgle to get some doggie socialization time.

     Now that I really think about it, it would be a great idea to get some active time in somehow. I haven't had much time to do anything besides work and be at home with the baby. I just found out that I'll be able to use an active reimbursement thinger from work to get a bicycle, so I'm thinking I'll do that next month if possible and then I'll bike around Moose Jaw whenever possible. I'm also thinking I need to get the DDR things hooked up for something a little more active I can do at home as well. Hmm... something to think about.

Bye everyone! ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== Semester Two Is Complete! ===

     After a long and hard-fought battle with three tests in one day, I managed to complete everything to my own satisfaction. As usual, I think I did great on my tests, but did I really? I've had this feeling before where I think I've done amazing or at least really good... and then I get my test back with a terrible mark because I didn't quite follow something correctly.

     I already know it's highly likely that I'll be re-taking one of my classes from last semester and I'm alright with that. I would obviously prefer that not be the case, but everything hit me so hard these last couple months that all it took was one bad test to ruin a class. Fortunately I have an amazingly super supportive partner in my life and thanks to her I know everything will be alright.

     I've only got one more final to do on the 21st which is a typing test. I'm looking forward to it because I love typing, but I'm also a little sad that I haven't been able to practice my speed so much this semester. I think my accuracy has gone up, but part of the problem I've had this semester has been that I'm always so cold, which makes it quite difficult to use my hands faster. If only I had some gloves or something that didn't inhibit my ability to use a keyboard and mouse.

     Well anywhos, besides all this talk about school and whatnot, I'll be having a fantastic Easter supper with my family today! Looking forward to visiting with family and eating food? ABSOLUTLEY! Looking forward to driving all the way to Regina on my day off? Not exactly... but that's alright. It's all worth it for family and food.

Have a great day everybody! I'm going to get food today! :D

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Using Work Skills At Home

     This isn't really something I've thought about greatly previously, but I think I may have had a wonderful brainwave. At work, we have a daily task list. I'm sure it seems simple enough, but it's a really good reminder of what we have to do each day. And of course, we have the option of adding new tasks to future days if anything comes up that isn't normally on the list. I'm beginning to think more and more that this is something I should implement around the house somewhere. I think the easiest way for me to do so would be to use my whiteboard for such a thing.

     In the past I have tried a few different things with varying amounts of success. I've tried to just remember everything in my head... which works alright, unless you get distracted by something or are tired or anything to that effect.

     I've also tried using programs on my computer like a notepad or something; this works alright as long as you remember to open and update it every time something changes. This should be simple enough, but I've notice that if it isn't visible, it can be quite difficult to remember to update continuously.

     I've also used Google Calendar; this actually works really well also if you remember to update it all the time. This COULD be what I will start getting myself into a habit of doing along with updating my whiteboard. I think both options together would be a good habit to get into.

     Anywhos, I just wanted to talk a little bit about something we do at work that I think would be a good tool to implement at home to help keep everything under control and organized going into the future. We'll see where it goes from here. I'll keep you all updated.

     Have a great day everybody! ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Depression Sucks

     If you struggle with depression as I do, then you know how crappy it can be. If you know someone who struggles with depression, then you may have some understanding of what it's like. I'm not sure how I would describe it... perhaps like there's a blanket over me and I can't get it off. Everything feels difficult.

     Some days are alright, and others I can barely get out of bed. I know I've lost weight recently from not eating enough food - though I don't know how much. Sometimes it's triggered by certain events, other times I have absolutely no idea what causes it. That's the mystery of depression.

     So it's a difficult thing to understand. People who have no experience with depression may have trouble knowing what to do, or how to handle someone with such a problem. Supporting a depressed person isn't as difficult as it sounds though. I recently read an article that explained it in a really good way. If someone told you they had an energy-sucking flu that made it really difficult to get out of bed, you would probably be like "oh man, that energy-sucking flu really sucks." And that's basically what it's like. It's not something weird and out there. It's like catching an energy-sucking flu for a while.

     As someone who has to deal with this sort of thing, I can tell you the best thing you can do for someone in this position is to just remain calm, and be there for them. You don't have to find solutions for them. Searching for a solution to depression while depressed is kinda like going to the store for a fire extinguisher while your house is on fire. Not exactly the best time. Seriously, just be there for them. One of the worst parts of being depressed is feeling like you're in the way. Feeling like you don't want to bring everyone else down with you. Sometimes all they need is someone to talk to. Someone willing to ride out the storm with them.

     The days get better. Some days are worse, some days are better. But it does pass in time... just like an energy-sucking flu.