Mom Life in the PNW

Avoid the doctors office and chat with real doctors on Amwell

amwell

“This is a sponsored conversation from Mums the Word Network and Amwell. All opinions are my own”

Before I got pregnant, I hardly ever went to the doctor. I just didn’t feel the need to waste my time by sitting in an office waiting to be called, then sitting in the exam room for a half an hour waiting to be seen for something trivial that could possibly be handled by just dealing with it at home. By dealing with it, I mean contacting Amwell, which is a site with real doctors who call or video chat you to help you out with a diagnoses based on your symptoms.

How awesome is it to not waste gas, bring the kids, or sit around and wait forever?

 Reasons to Use Amwell

  1. Lower cost. Consumers expect online visits to be cost-savers; with in-office visits costing, on average, $82 for first-time patients according to the Healthcare Blue Book, Amwell offers a $49 physician visit – a savings of $33. Great option for students in college looking for cost-effective healthcare or those between jobs and without insurance.
  2. Accessibility. After hours, on weekends and in the middle of the night (24/7/365) availability. Great for those who do have transportation or when you don’t feel well enough to drive and those who are newly relocated and don’t have providers yet.
  3. Convenience. Consumers are looking for a faster appointment. Now they don’t need to schedule an appointment nor do they need to wait to be seen, especially if on vacation or business travel. The doctor can be seen from the comfort and convenience of their own home.
  4. Quick prescriptions. Consumers would rather have an online video visit than an in-office visit to obtain common primary care prescriptions.
  5. Peace of mind. Rather than self-diagnosing or visiting a social forum for medical advice, users can obtain second opinions directly from board certified, licensed doctors.

I’ve been feeling like I have a UTI, so I decided to hop on Amwell and contact a specialist. I described my symptoms and they are prescribing me antibiotics. It’s as quick and as simple as that.

Having a little one makes it hard to do anything let alone visiting a doctor’s office. I’ll be using Amwell from now on for all of my basic needs.

Follow the link and use this code (HEALTHY16) to get your first visit for only a $1!

Learning the Tricks of Etsy and Getting Sales

Learning the Tricks of Etsy and Getting Sales

Around March, my Etsy shop finally decided to take off and I currently have 90 sales under my belt. Now I know to the big Etsy sellers, my measly 90 sales over at my Mean Muggin It is nothing, but to me, it’s a huge milestone.

I’ve worked my butt off trying to fix my listing titles, tags, descriptions, SEO, etc. Basically, it’s like another blog and requires constant effort.

Most people think you just list a few things on Etsy and you’ll get sales; Wrong!

Things I’ve learned about the algorithm of Etsy

 

 

Keywords

  • Titles need to be filled to the max with keywords of your item. I separate them with a backslash or a comma, then paste them into the tag section. You need to use up all 13 tags.
  • Keywords and tags also need to be more than one word. Be descriptive. Think of what you’d be searching for to find your item.
  • Your keywords also need to be implemented into your description. The part where you describe the process and detailing of your item.

Great Photos

It also helps to have clear photos that stand out and catch the eye. I am still working on this part since it’s hard to do great pics in Sunlight and/or inside the house. I am contemplating on building a light box or even purchasing a cheapo one from Amazon to use with both my phone and DSLR camera in hopes that it will make my photos more enticing and in turn generate more sales.

Having your item staged with something next to it to give a size comparison is also good. Shows the buyer just how big your item is comparatively.

 

Profile

I have heard that filling out your profile and policies 100% leads to more views. Regardless of views, you’ll want to do this so you are backed by your shop policies if something were to go awry.

Social Media

You’ll want to build a social media following specifically for your Etsy business. I mainly like Instagram as I get way more interaction there than on Facebook. Probably because the Facebook pages only show to a small percentage of your followers. Don’t sign up for the business Instagram account. They could eventually show you to less and fewer people like Facebook since they were bought out by Facebook.

Establish a following on whatever social media sites you prefer, I recommend Instagram and Pinterest, and to use relative hashtags for your product and watch the likes, comments and follows come in. (Especially on Instagram and Pinterest)

Introduce new products on social media first that way you get them interested enough, they’ll be waiting for you to list it on Etsy. Announce sales with coupon codes, flash sales, giveaways, whatever to get a little online traffic.

Click on the relative hashtags that you’ve used in your posts and go heart a few of the people’s photos who have used the same hashtag. It gets them over to your profile and can lead to a possible sale. For instance, I use the hashtag #idrinkandiknowthings from #gameofthrones since I have made a mug and tumbler with that quote. Then I go heart peoples public posts.

It’s my number 1 seller so far!

There are plenty more tips, so maybe I’ll do a second edition post as I learn more tricks of the trade.

Do you have any tips or suggestions for Etsy sellers whether you’re a buyer or a seller?

A photo of one of my products on Etsy; the simplistic wedding ring dish with initials.

Simplistic Initial Wedding Ring Dish

Camping at Detroit Lake in Oregon

Camping at Detroit Lake in Oregon

A few months ago, we decided to book a camping trip at Detroit Lake, Oregon since our friends had invited us. I was kind of hesitant since baby girl is walking around now and you know, campfires and dirt and uncomfortable air mattresses with a toddler just didn’t sound thrilling. So let’s just say, I had to be optimistic.

It takes about 2 hours from here to there so I knew we needed to leave before she took her late morning/early afternoon nap. We got lucky since she ended up sleeping the entire way there.

We arrive and set up camp, which didn’t take nearly as long as it usually does since we bought an instant tent with poles already attached and ready to go. (Thanks, Target cartwheel for the 40% off! Lol)

detroit lake campground

I brought her playpen and a new camping play toy set on Amazon which kept her occupied while we set stuff up. Then we freed her, and all was fair game says the running rampant toddler.

She walked around part of the campground saying hi to the campers near us. She’s going to be a social butterfly like her dad. I myself like to avoid conversations with strangers since I’m a little socially awkward. I don’t know if I like her being super friendly since this opens up (in my mind) easy access for kidnapping. Hey, you can never be too cautious with the sick people in the world today. But don’t worry, I’m a helicopter mom. I mean, you got to be when they’re this age…

The campground was okay, maybe a little too cramped for my liking since we had the extra parking spots right in our camp area. It’s almost as if we were in the city with very little yard separating us from our neighbors. I guess in a way it’s nice if you want to mingle with strangers, but I prefer more space when you have to pay to camp.

The lake last year was pretty dried up. It still isn’t where it normally is supposed to be, but it at least had a good amount.

detroit lake campground

We sat in our inner tubes in the lake for a little bit, but the current kept pushing us up to the shoreline in the 6 inches of water, so our butts were scraping on the rocks. Arya wanted to hop out of the tube and go play on her own. Lol

She’s starting to become too independent… I just want my baby to stay little forever.

She was having so much fun running around that she didn’t want to take a single nap and fought it pretty much all day until 5 pm. And even then, she only slept 30 minutes and was up til 10:30.

She’s enjoying the world. And when she gets older, she’s going to wish she could nap like I currently wish for myself…ha

Overall, Detroit Lake was fun, but it gets pretty cold through the night, so be sure to bring lots of blankets and warm clothes. I was freezing my butt off!

They have free showers to use, a free activity every day to do, AND toilets… No digging holes for me, yay!

So if you’re looking for a luxury style place to camp in Oregon, try Detroit Lake!

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Traveling to Vegas With a Baby Part 2

Traveling to Vegas With a Baby Part 2

If you haven’t read part 1 and would like to, go here.

The next day…

Checkout time is 11 am at most of the hotels in Vegas, but we had planned to leave at around 9:30am to go use our caesers buffet groupon which had stipulations of being there before 10 am.

So we get to Caesers Palace which seemed like miles and miles of walking to get to the buffet and we notice the line is non existent. Wow, that’s a first. Usually this place is sought after and super crowded.

Well, apparently since it was Memorial Day, they weren’t accepting the Groupon offer. Or well they would, but they told me it would be an additional $60 charge when the Groupon was already $69. Way to try to capitalize on the deaths of our fallen soldiers/service men/women Caesars. Dicks!

So now our plans for breakfast fell through. We were hungry, so we just went to the food court and had mediocre, overpriced breakfast sandwhiches.

It’ll make a turd as my husband always says.

After that, we had to go back to Harrahs because i realized i had left my new phones charger in the room. Good thing we still had a key and it worked so we didn’t have to deal with the front desk.

We had also planned to go to Costco to get booze, but realized again that it was Memorial Day and it wasn’t open. That’s okay though, because good ol’ Walmart is open all year unfortunately.

That’s our usual stop when we go to Vegas, so it was fine.

Next stop was checking in to the New York New York hotel.

Check in didn’t take super long, maybe 30 minutes or so. We ended up upgrading the park avenue room to a spa room for an additional $29 per night as advertised through the email we recieved prior to our stay.

ny ny las vegas

So we get our keys, go up to our assigned room, open it up and notice that peoples belongings are still in it. So we’re like what the hell.. its no wonder there are reviews of people’s stuff getting stolen. This is probably the majority of the reason why.

My husband goes down to talk to them and they say sorry and give us a room on a different floor and as far away from the elevator they could possibly give us, which was annoying. The room was nothing special. It was nice enough for what it was. The spa tub had a bunch of hair in it, so i didnt even want to get in it, and mold or crud around the jets that came off when I wiped it with a baby wipe. So housekeeping pretty much does a piss poor job cleaning, if they even do any at all.

ny ny las vegas

My daughter had black feet from walking around for 10 min on the carpet. So gross. I washed her up and instantly put socks on her. Shampoo your carpets once in a while!

The following day we are out and about and go back up to our room to find that we’re locked out. So my husband again, goes back down to get our keys fixed. They said it wouldn’t happen again but it very well did the following day. This time i was pissed and went down there to the guest services desk where no one is to help you. All the other service people are checking people in and ignoring us standing there, so finally, i went up and interrupted someones check in to get help. She looked irritated but i didnt care. If they did their job right the first time, they wouldn’t be bothered by crap like this and then i wouldn’t be angry.

We didnt get a sorry, no resort fee comped, nothing for this irritating hassle. This hotel is one of the most unorganized ones i have stayed in.

The only thing decent was the bed. It felt comfortable.

The pool was like warm bath water. Wished it was colder on 100 degree days. I really hope they dont heat their pools? That’s pretty dang silly for the Nevada summer heat if they do.

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The machines are tight, but the location and hotel is fun and entertaining. I will never stay here again though, but i will probably pass through.

This pretty much made our Vegas stay meh.

I’ll do an overview of Vegas with a baby in my next post.

Gerber® Lil’ Beanies: A Healthy Snack Your Toddler Will Love

Gerber® Lil’ Beanies: A Healthy Snack Your Toddler Will Love

We’re not new in trying out Gerber® Lil’ Beanies baked snacks. I seen them on sale one day at Target through the cartwheel app when they first came out and had to get them to try out for my lil babe. She absolutely loves them, so I get them at least once a week for her to snack on.

This last trip to Target, I had experienced a crying fit, which she had never done in the store before. I’m assuming it was because she was hungry since she didnt want to eat much of her lunch. As soon as I opened up the Lil’ Beanies in the store, she began devouring them and calmed down.

Gerber lil beanies

These are the perfect on the go baked treat for my lil babe since they have 2g of protein and 1g of fiber per serving. I feel good knowing shes eating a healthy snack as these are made with navy beans and also contain 10% of the daily value of vitamin E. There’s no GMO’s, artificial flavors, artificial colors or preservatives. Just a tasty treat toddlers love.

Gerber lil beanies
Lil’ Beanies come in original and white cheddar with broccoli, and the latter being her favorite of course. I’ve tried them myself just to see what she’s eating and they’re pretty good. You definitely can taste broccoli and cheese!

Now that she’s 14 months and becoming more and more picky with what she eats, I’m glad she’s loving these Lil’ Beanies since it makes it a whole lot easier to deal with hungry outbursts in the store or out and about in general.

Lil’ Beanies will always be in our cupboard; Because a happy baby is a happy mommy.