Friday, December 21, 2012

The 2012 Recap

*Note: You can also read this entry on our new blog by clicking here*

What a year it has been! I can't believe this year is over. I think I say that every year, but it really is true. Time flies by too fast. 

This year we.. 


  • Started Learning Domestic Discipline (the website)! We merged our two blogs (Learning DD, and Knowing Your Roles) into one site- Learning Domestic Discipline. The response has been overwhelming, and it's still so surreal to us. We look forward to what 2013 will bring! 
  • Celebrated our gorgeous sons first birthday. There are no words to explain how quickly kids grow up. :-( There are also no words to express our love for him. He. is. perfect. 
  • I started the 1 Year No Spanking Challenge. Several other bloggers also undertook it, and it has been awesome to support each other through it. My challenge made it 5 months the first time, and now I'm in month 2 of the second "re-do". I'm determined to make it a year! 
  • Realized that my husband and I might be a little too addicted to real estate and home improvement shows. House Hunters, House Hunters International, DIY Disaster and Love It or List It currently dominate our DVR, and have most of the year.
  • We also realized how awful Yo Gabba Gabba is. Unfortunately, that is our sons favorite show which means that Clint and I walk around all day with Yo Gabba Gabba songs stuck in our heads.
  • We took a few amazing trips, including a (much needed) beach vacation to a gorgeous island, a Charleston SC trip (the first time we had a trip, just the two of us, since our son was born!), and a few others. We also planned some exciting trips for 2013 that I really wish would hurry up and get here. We love traveling.
  • We launched the Learning Domestic Discipline forums! It's been a lot of fun to meet new people. 
  • We were contacted by a big-name talk show. Discussions about it are on-going, but we are excited to see what 2013 holds in terms of domestic discipline and sharing it with as many people as we can.
  • I got, what I would consider, the worst spanking ever
  • I told all the playgroup moms about DD. Surprisingly, the reaction wasn't near as bad as I expected!
  • My husband started a new job, which has been great, because it allows him to be home much more and it's in a field that he really loves.
  • We started maintenance spankings. It was a concept that I was not so thrilled with at first, but now that it's been some time, I can totally see the benefits (and I think my husband can too). 
  • I was hospitalized for just shy of a week, and during that time, went through 3 surgeries. It was a very difficult time for our entire family, but we got through it. It's situations like that one which really make me realize never to take anything for granted. Thankfully, I'm back to normal, healthy, and everything is great. 
  • We implemented a "no cussing rule", something that we have never had before, but now that our son is picking up so many new words and beginning to mimic everything we say, it was definitely time. I struggled with it a lot at first (and, still have some minor slip-ups from time to time) but I think it's safe to say that soap in the mouth, or swats, really does work.
  • We celebrated a lot of firsts with our son. The most memorable was the first time he ever said "mama" was on my birthday. Talk about the best birthday ever. He also took his first steps this year (over Memorial Day weekend), celebrated lots of first holidays like Valentines Day, Easter, Fourth of July, and more, started eating "big boy food", and so much more. It was a year of firsts. :-) 
  • We realized how important, and how wonderful, the DD community really is. The amount of support we have gotten this year (especially while I was sick!) will be an everlasting memory for us. We've gotten to meet some great domestic discipline couples this year, and we're looking forward to meeting many more in 2013. 

We are looking forward to what 2013 holds. From our family, to yours, happy holidays! We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas, and New Years. Stay safe, and remember how short life is- it really flies by too fast. 

Happy Holidays,

Clint and Chelsea

Saturday, December 15, 2012

5 Things: The New Site Edition


Feels like forever since I've done one of these. It's long overdue, for sure. :) 

1: Lots of updates to our new site! Judging by our traffic numbers it seems everyone (and then some!) has already seen our new site. Pretty awesome, right? We love it, and we're glad that you all do too. The feedback has been overwhelming awesome. We're glad you all were as excited as we were! Here's a look at what is new on the site this week: 
  • We have a new blog feature! The blog feature is similar to our current blogs (except merged together) and all our blog entries are already on there, and ready to go. We wanted an easier to read method, rather than our past articles feature, and we think we have found a great solution. In the future, all blog entries will only be posted on the new site, but for now, we'll be posting them in both spots (our blogspot blogs, and our new site). 
  • We are working on creating a blogroll! We're looking forward to having everyones blogs on our blog roll. Stay tuned for more information as we finish ironing out the details! 
  • You can now leave comments on our blog entries on the new site. All blogs, on the new site, now have a comment feature. Note that the name and email fields are optional so you can still remain anonymous when you comment if you choose to do so. 
  • My husband wrote a new post entitled Spanking Multiple Times Per Day. You can read it by clicking here
2: We're working on some exciting features coming soon! Our site is constantly evolving. Here's a look at what is coming in the weeks and months to come:
  • All comments that our previously on our blogs will be transferred over to the new blog ASAP. We're hoping to have that done this week, but with the volume of comments we have it takes some time. 
  • We're creating a new comment organization system that we are hoping to have done within the next week or two as well. This will allow you to sort comments by category. 
  • Our HOH Headquarters and The DD Wives Club will be launching this spring. We're excited about creating a special spot for both roles of the DD structure to be able to interact with each other, and to provide resources specifically for each role.
  • A  mobile version of both our Learning Domestic Discipline site, and our Learning Domestic Discipline blog site will be available within the next month.  
3: An update on us: Honestly, I feel like so much has been going on lately between getting ready for the holidays, the new site, and more, that I never have time to write a "personal blog entry" anymore. Hopefully that changes soon. In the meantime, here's some quick updates on us. :)

  • Our son turned 17 months old this past week! It's crazy how fast he is growing up. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing son. He's getting smarter by the day. He is learning numbers (and can count to 6) and new words each day. And, he still loves dancing. :) 
  • We finally had a date night! I think I've been asking Clint for one for like months now, but our schedule just never seemed to allow it. We were both really looking forward to it, and it was a lot of fun. We went out to dinner, and watched a movie (you know, the standard date night stuff) but it was much needed. It was great to take a break from all this site stuff for a night. 
  • My Christmas shopping is like, hmm....maybe 40% done? Yeah, I need to get on that. It's in the plan for this week.
4: An awesome new DD blog: Written by Heather (who, by the way, has an adorable Wordpress layout that I absolutely love), her DD blog is just starting out, but it's great so far. It's definitely worth adding to your blogroll, if you haven't already. 

5: The Connecticut Tragedy: For the final link this week, I'm linking this well put together resource page for how you can help the victims of, honestly, one of the most horrific tragedies I've ever heard of- the shooting in Connecticut. Click here for a list of resources to help the victims. 

As a mother, I cannot imagine what the parents of the victims are feeling, yet alone their families, friends, and all that loved them. This is one of the worst things I've ever heard, and our heart, thoughts, prayers, and hugs go out to the victims, their families, and everyone in Newtown, Connecticut who is struggling to comprehend one of the worst tragedies this country has ever seen. God Bless Sandy Hook Elementary, the families, the victims, and the first responders. 



 
Also, on Tuesday December 18th, there will be a Blogger Day of Silence in remembrance for all the victims in the Sandy Hook tragedy. If you're interested in participating, you can find out more information by clicking here.





Saturday, December 1, 2012

OUR NEW SITE IS OFFICIALLY UP!


Well, it's official! Learning Domestic Discipline is now a website!!!

We really can't believe this day is finally here. After many months of extremely hard work, many times of staying up all night and countless hours..our new site is now up!

Our new site URL will now be http://www.learningdd.com

First, there is a lot that you need to know. But, we'll try to keep this short.

  1. Starting on January 1st, 2013 both the Learning Domestic Discipline blog and the Knowing Your Roles will be redirected to our new site.
  2. The new site is completely free. 
  3. There are areas of the new site that are still under construction. We are hoping to have those up and running within the next few months. Some sections (like the comments/questions section) will be up within the next 2 weeks. Other sections (like the HOH Headquarters and DD Wives Club) will be up in a couple of months. 
  4. Right now the site is not compatible with most MOBILE browsers. We will be creating a mobile version of the site to be compatible with mobile browsers within the next 30 days. 
  5. The site is, however, compatible with all internet browsers including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and more.
  6. The new site may take some getting used to, and we fully understand that. However, we hope that you'll find that it is much easier to use and organized as opposed to our current blog formats. 
We are so thankful, and grateful, for all of you. We truly hope that you love our new site as much as we do. 

If you have any questions, comments, problems, or need anything please either email us at contact@learningdd.com or by clicking the contact button at the top of our new site.

Thank you all for the overwhelming support, encouragement, kind words, readership, and much much more. This is an amazing community that we are so proud to be a part of.

Sincerely, 

Clint & Chelsea

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Coming Soon...

We have been a little out of touch with everyone lately as we get ready for our new site to launch in just a few days!

Just a quick update to let everyone know that our new site will be launching on Saturday December 1st and we couldn't be more excited

-Chelsea (and Clint)

Thursday, November 22, 2012

I'm Thankful For..


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Actually the entire holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years) is probably my favorite time of the year. 

Clint and I are thankful for many things this year. We are beyond blessed, and we are truly grateful. One of those things is our readers. 

It never ceases to amaze us how supportive, amazing, wonderful, encouraging, and just plain great this community is. It makes me remember why we began blogging in the first place, and we're truly thankful every day for all the support, kind words, and comments we receive. It still shocks us sometimes how many marriages we have truly been able to help, and with each one of those testimonials it just makes us more thankful.

We are thankful for you! 

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Safe travels, stay warm, and enjoy this time with your family and friends. :)

-Chelsea (and Clint)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Liebster Award

I recently found out I was nominated for The Liebster Award from Pooky over at CDD For Life. Thanks for the nomination Pooky! I appreciate it! 




Here's the rules..




  • When one receives the award, one posts 11 random facts about oneself and answers the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
  • Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (while making sure one notifies the blogger that one nominated them!)
  • One writes up 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.
  • One is not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated one’s own blog!
  • One pastes the award picture into one’s blog. (You can Google the image, there are plenty of them!) 


  • Sounds like fun right? :-) I agree! 

    Here are Pooky's questions for me. 

    1. Where are you sitting as you write this post? In our family room (with Yo Gabba Gabba on in the background. In case you don't know what that is, it's quite possibly the most annoying children's show ever created).

    2. What is the last book you read? The last book I read completely was Bringing Up Bebe. It's basically about an American woman who raises her little girl by European parenting standards. I spent a lot of time in Europe growing up, and it's important to me to raise our son in a similar environment in terms of parenting styles (especially when it comes to food). Needless to say, it was a great book and I learned a lot. 


    The book I'm currently in the middle of reading is Gone Girl, although I'm only like 10 pages into it. I went a little crazy purchasing books when I first got my Kindle, and so I'm slowly working my way through the 70-something unread books I have on there. :)
    3. Which is your favorite of the Seven Dwarfs? My favorite one is probably Happy. To be completely honest though, I can only remember the names of like 4 of them. Shows you the last time I watched the movie Snow White, lol.

    4. How do you like your eggs cooked? Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese! Prior to meeting my husband I used to always eat them over-medium, but then I met my husband and he got me hooked on scrambled eggs (with shredded cheese blended in). Now I'll probably never go back. 

    5. What would you do if Someone close to you in real life found out about your secret Blog? I don't have a secret blog, so I honestly don't know how to answer this. I don't hide my blog from anyone. There are some people who don't know I have a blog, but I'm not trying to hide it from them- it isn't a secret. If they asked, or if the topic ever came up, I'd gladly tell them and I'd love if they read it! :)

    6. Who was your favorite teacher? That's a really hard one. Probably my Biochemistry II professor. He was my favorite professor at University of Texas and helped me so much (both personally and academically), especially when my mom passed away. Sadly, he passed away in 2009, but he was an awesome professor. He taught me so much.

    7. Why do you think you were nominated for this Award? I don't know, but I'm grateful and thankful! :)

    8. When was the last time you were spanked? Almost a month ago!! Since I had to restart my 1-year no spanking challenge over, I'm about to officially hit month 1 of my new 1-year no spanking challenge. I'm excited and more determined than ever. 

    9. If you were lost in the woods with no cell service, and no one with you- what 3 things would you want to have with you? I would want people, lol. My husband and son without a doubt. But, if people aren't an option, then I would probably want food, water, and a car with GPS to get me out of there.

    10. What is your favorite quote? Another hard question. :) I'll list my top 3. 1) "Everything will be OK in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end." -Unknown

    2) "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to live the life that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell
    3) "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to let your heart go walking around outside your body." -EL James

    The next half of this is to nominate 11 people and write them 11 questions. 

    I'm really not good at nominating people because I always feel really bad if I leave people out. :( However, I'm truly grateful that I got nominated. 

    For those of you who haven't been nominated yet, feel free to comment and I'd be happy to write questions for you so you can participate  because I really don't want anyone to be left out.

    -Chelsea




    Saturday, November 10, 2012

    The LDD Forums have LAUNCHED!

    I've been waiting for this day forever, it seems like. After countless hours of work, money, and stress, the first step in our new site is officially ready to launch!




    For those of you who haven't heard, my husband and I have decided to combine our blogs into one "brand". We're extremely excited to launch our brand new site, http://www.learningdd.com, in just a few weeks. For a more in depth look at what the new site will feature, please visit my husbands latest blog entry. But, in the meantime, the first segment is launching tonight- the LDD Forums!

    The forums are completely free, and include places to ask questions, post your personals ads, get advice, meet other DD couples, and much more. 

    To join the forums please follow the below steps:

    1: Go to http://www.learningdd.com/forum

    2: Click register in the top left corner.

    3: Read and agree to the registration rules and agreement.

    4: Choose your username and password.

    5: Start posting!

    That's it! :) 

    If you have any questions, feel free to ask. 

    We look forward to seeing everyone over there in the future.

    -Chelsea (and Clint)

    Thursday, November 8, 2012

    Love Our Lurkers 7

    It's baaacckk!!! The infamous Love Our Lurkers Day that Bonnie over at My Bottom Smarts created is back again, and it's an awesome way to meet new people within the DD community. 



    If you've been lurking around my blog for awhile, or if this is your first time, I'd love to get to know you! Please feel free to leave me a comment, or contact me other methods using the Contact Me tab at the top.

    The domestic discipline community is full of support, understanding, friendship, and it's a great way to not feel so alone within this lifestyle that some find very isolating. I encourage you to use this day as a way to break out of your shell and meet some new friends. :-)

    I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. 

    -Chelsea

    Sunday, October 7, 2012

    5 Things Week 6 - Catch Up Edition

    I'm still working on getting back "into the swing of things" since I've gotten sick, had surgery, all that extra crappy stuff. Sorry for the delay. I'm hoping to return to "regular blogging" soon (within the next week or so) but for now this is the best I can do.



    1: A Nice Break: This past week we decided to take a spur of the moment trip (I love those!) to South Carolina. Not only do I totally love South Carolina, but it was great to get away for a bit, distract my brain from thinking about the pain (both physically and emotionally) and just relax! We had a great time. I don't know what it is about seeing palm trees that always makes me so excited. It really, really helped. 

    2: A Challenge Update!: The challenge is still going strong. I'm about to hit month 3 on October 10th! My husband and I were just talking yesterday about the reward for the third month and I have to say, I'm definitely excited. I'm also excited about how many people are taking the challenge with me! It's awesome to be able to get, and give, encouragement. 

    3: Writing Lines: Thankfully I haven't had to do this in awhile (although I got threatened this past week!) but I'm telling you that writing lines has got to be one of the worst DD punishments there is (aside from spanking, of course). Anyone agree? Seriously. So. Boring.

    4: My husband is back to blogging! : So, I know I said I wouldn't link his blog every week (and I haven't been!) but lately I haven't read any DD blogs (aside from his!) so I don't have any to link. Plus, I think his new entry is great, and gives a lot of updates as far as our new site, and more! You can check it out here: http://learningdd.blogspot.com/2012/10/it-feels-good-to-be-back.html

    5: These are SO good. Probably not the healthiest, but I'm telling you, they're awesome. They're called S'mores Cookies (or S'mores bars) and I think they're one of my husbands new favorite desserts (and super easy to make!)

    For the recipe, click here.

     A couple of quick notes:

    1. The malware issue that some of you were reporting on my husbands blog has been fixed!!
    2. I know I'm way behind on emails (yet again). Please be patient. Honestly, at this rate, it could be months before I get to yours. :(
    I hope you all have a great week. I'm looking forward to getting back to blogging like normal again! For now though, these weekly 5 Things updates will have to do.

    xoxo
    -Chelsea   

     

    Wednesday, September 19, 2012

    Coming Out About DD At Playgroup

    As many of you know, I'm a mother (seriously whenever I type, or say that, I get instantly happy). Our son is 14 months old and I'm not even kidding when I say that he is the most amazing person, in addition to my husband. I could go on and on about him, but I will save you guys all the "can she be done talking about her son now?" statements and get to the point of this.

    Back when I was pregnant with our son I knew I wanted to find a playgroup not only for him, but for me to make "mommy friends", especially those with kids around the same age as our son. When we moved out to the east coast (when our son was just a few months old) that need became even more important. So, I searched around and found a playgroup that meets once a week and all the kids are really close to his age (only a few months difference, max). The moms are pretty cool too, and it's been a great way for me to make friends.

    Back in Utah almost all our friends knew about DD, or practiced it themselves. When we moved out east, we had to make all new friends and since we've done that, very few know about DD. Not because we're necessarily shy about it (well, ok, maybe we I am a little bit) but because it isn't really a topic that ever comes up or the window of opportunity just isn't there. That is, until playgroup last week.

    I was finally feeling up to going to playgroup. Since my recent hospitalization, and surgeries, I have been trying to ease back into our normal lives. I was excited to go to playgroup, and so was our son. So, we went. It was great to see all our friends again. While our son and his playgroup friends were running around digging up plastic dinosaur bones at the new dinosaur exhibit at a nearby children's museum, the moms and I sat around talking about random things, one of those being marriage.

    The opportunity was definitely there. One of the moms was struggling a little with an incident in her marriage. Another was suggesting the perfect solution was to just "go to the bar with the other girls tonight, forget your husband for a few hours and just let loose". They then invited me to that not so fun event. Politely, I declined. The "what? why?" statements came flying. Sure, I could have used the "I really don't feel good, just got out of the hospital" excuse. But I decided to use this opportunity to "come out" to a group of 8 women who I've gotten to know over the past few months about domestic discipline.

    Was I nervous? Totally. Was my heart beating 1,000 times a minute? Probably. But do I believe it was the right thing to do? Absolutely.

    I started by just saying "honestly, I don't feel comfortable going to bars without my husband." Which, by the way, is totally true. Then, the conversation grew, and grew, and eventually we got on the topic of why it's a "guideline" that I "don't drink without my husband present". Since I literally only drink maybe once a year anyway this is more of just a respect thing that my husband and I have and not necessarily a rule, but nonetheless I told them about it.

    I'll save ya'll the long, drawn out, conversational details, but let's just say that after 20-30 minutes I had a group of 8 women stunned. They'd never heard of domestic discipline before. They were shocked and blown away. But, as one of them put it "so now we know why Chelsea has such an awesome marriage". 

    DD isn't the only reason I have a great marriage. But does it play a part? Absolutely. And I was happy others could see that. But then, once the initial shock wore off came the slew of questions. And, by slew, I mean like dozens upon dozens. Everything under the sun. The most common question was "Oh, is this like 50 Shades of Grey!?" Yeah. No. 

    This playgroup had suddenly turned from a 1 hour social gathering into a almost 3 hour question and answer session. My nerves eased away once everyone "backed off" a little bit, but I felt like my heart was still racing by time it was over. 

    I walked away from that playgroup feeling so relieved. I was still a little shocked, like "I can't even believe I just did that" feeling, but I was relieved that now, for future playgroups, I didn't have to hide anything. Sure, I might be the "talk of the playgroup" for like the next year (and I hate excessive amounts of attention, so trust me, that's really going to suck) but it will be worth it.  

    Within the week or so following playgroup I feel like my phone was blowing up with text messages. More questions, texts like "I actually talked this over with my husband" and even some people agreeing to try it! I was stunned. Happy, but stunned. 

    Playgroup in the future sure will be interesting. But, I'm well on the road to having all our friends here in our new state know about DD, just like in our previous state. :-)

    To all my playgroup mommy friends who I'm sure will be reading this: thanks for your support, for your understanding, and to those of you who are giving it a try, know you have a whole DD community to back you up, support you, encourage you, and cheer you on. 

    -Chelsea

    Sunday, September 16, 2012

    5 Things- Week 5 - Back to Blogging!

    Hi everyone!

    It's been forever since I wrote a blog. I have to admit, being back to blogging feels really good. I've missed everyone!! I figured I'd start back with a 5 Things entry, just to fill everyone in a little, then get back to regular blogging next week. 

    1: Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! One day when I'm a little stronger (both emotionally, and physically) I may write about what happened. For now though, I just want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support given by our family, friends, Blogland, and more. My husband and I both greatly appreciate everyones support. To make a long story short (without a lot of details), I was hospitalized for 5 days, and had 2 surgeries during that time. Needless to say, the recovery process has been long, but I'm excited and really looking forward to getting back to normal. :) 

    2: Month 2 is DONE! Last week the second month of my challenge was completed! My husband had an awesome day planned as a reward, and we had a lot of fun. It was just what I needed. :) As some of you may remember, I had a setback last month so getting month 2 done was like a weight off my shoulders. Here's to month 3 of the No Spanking Challenge! Want to take the challenge with me? You should! You don't have to go a full year (although that would be awesome), you can start with smaller goals like 1 month, 3 months, etc. Trust me, it's fun. 

    3: We've got big website changes in the works! Have you checked out our new site yet? If not, click here! As you'll see, right now it's under construction but at least we now have a target date of when it will be completed! It's going to be really exciting when it's all done. Way more organized, more like a website vs. a blog, networks, forums, chat, personals, and so much more. But for now go check out the progress we've made. :) We're really excited about the new site launch and hope you are as well.  

    4: Blondie's Blog: This past week, one of my blogging friends Blondie put up this post about a new book series that she says is better than 50 Shades of Grey. I haven't read the new series yet (called The Sweet Series) but maybe I'll give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation, Blondie! 

    5: I'm totally making this! Hopefully this week, and then I will take pictures for the blog.What is it,you ask?

      
    That. It's an "I Love You Because..." dry erase board. Since I feel like I'm always leaving "I love you" notes all around the house for my husband, this board will make things much more organized, and cute! The tutorial for it is here, if you want to make one too! 

    In other news..

    I've got an awesome story to tell ya'll. It'll be posted up on the blog early this week. 
    And for everyone who wrote into a popular talk show about us, let's just say it worked! We're in the very early stages, but something big is in the works!

    Have an awesome Sunday, everyone. And, thank you for your prayers. It really means a lot.

    -Chelsea 

    Missed the previous weeks? 
    Check out 5 Things Week 1 here
    Week 2 is here
    Week 3 is here
    Week 4 is here
     

    Sunday, September 2, 2012

    The Spirit of Chelsea

      Hello everyone.  This is Clint, Chelsea's husband.  She asked that I write a quick entry on her blog this morning.

      As you may or may not know, my wife has been hospitalized since Wednesday with some pretty serious health issues.  I don't feel comfortable disclosing everything going on regarding her health, but it certainly isn't anything life threatening or anything TOO major.  She can be treated and she'll fully recover, but it's going to take a few weeks for her to be completely back to "normal."

      The outpour of support through my blog, her blog, emails, Twitter, the network - you name it - has been overwhelming.   Words cannot express how thankful we are to have such a large amount of support from our friends in the DD community, and from those close to us.  Times like this make me realize just how many truly genuine, caring, and supportive people there are in this world, and that's always refreshing to see/hear.  So thank you all so very much for your overwhelming support.  We'll get past this soon.


      My wife also wanted me to make it clear that she has not "disappeared."  Lol.  She wants to continue blogging and continue being involved in the DD community.  Once her pain and comfort levels are tolerable, she'll get back to doing what she does so well.

      Once again, on behalf of my entire family, I'd like to thank you all for your support as we go through this difficult time.  I'm doing everything I can to get my wife back to normal health, and there's no doubt in my mind that she will come out of this experience a stronger, healthier person.  She has a knack for taking a negative experience and turning it into something positive.  That's just the spirit of Chelsea.

    Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend everyone.  Until next time.

    Sunday, August 26, 2012

    5 Things - Week 4

    Sorry I've been kind of slow on blogging this week. It's been one of those weeks where things have been so busy, I haven't been feeling great, and life is just hectic. I appreciate ya'll being patient. :-) 


    1: We bought a house! And it's a super awesome house, too. We're so excited. Some of you may remember, on week 2 of the 5 things post, I was explaining how we decided to buy a house for a few years while our new home is being built. Well, finally, we picked one out (we had it narrowed down to 2, and it was a hard choice) and it all became official this past week- now we just have to wait for closing, and start the super fun process of moving. We're really excited. 

    2: The 24th came and went. For most people, the 24th of each month probably means nothing. But, for me, it means a lot. Well, it used to at least. The 24th of each month used to symbolize the day that I was able to cross another month off my 1 year no spanking challenge. But, ever since last months setback, now the 10th is the magical day. I'd be lying though if I said that I wasn't majorly disappointed yesterday. I tried not to let it show, but finally broke down at like 3 AM. I really think that I put too much pressure on myself. :( I just want to complete this challenge so bad. 

    3: Diapers and DD?? Does anyone understand what this is all about? For some reason, the past few weeks, the number of emails I've gotten, comments I've read, and blog posts I've seen have focused on this crazy "DD trend" about diapering your wife if she acts like a toddler. I don't understand it at all although I will say that I haven't really tried to because it just seems so odd to me. Has anyone else noticed this new "trend"? What do you think- anyone else think it's really....out there...or is it just me?

    4: My Bottom Smarts- If you haven't checked out Bonnie's blog, My Bottom Smarts, I'll fill you in. She does this thing called Sunday Brunch every weekend with a new question, and it's pretty interesting. I linked her this week because the question is an age old DD question about spanking over or under the clothes. The responses should be pretty interesting, I think.  

    5: This isn't a website link, but I still wanted to share. It fits with DD perfectly. 



    ..and here's something to think about.. 


    Have an awesome rest of your weekend, everybody!

    -Chelsea   

    Monday, August 20, 2012

    I've been dreading writing this entry...

    *Super deep breath* 

    I've been dreading writing this blog entry for a couple of days (actually, like a week). I actually really want to share some good news with everyone, but I'll have to wait, because this entry is going to suck.

    My 1-year no spanking challenge has hit a slightly minor major roadblock, and I have to start over. 

    Now, the minor piece of good news here is the way we have it structured is I'm starting the month over, not the entire challenge over. So, eventually I'll still get 12 months of no spanking (hopefully), which is the goal, but still, this sucks. I really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really was looking forward to celebrating my "2 month no spanking challenge" here in about a week, and now it is a month behind. To say I'm frustrated is an understatement. 



    I'm hurt, sad, frustrated, and extremely disappointed. I don't think ya'll have any idea how bad I wanted this. :-( 

    So, for everyone asking how my challenge is going- there's your answer. I'm like a month behind schedule. Sooooo frustrating. 

    The challenge has started over (by a month) for several reasons. But that's the bottom line. I made it a whole freakin' month. 

    Frustrated is an understatement. 

    But, I'm still determined. I'm going to make it a year. I'm determined to make this the only set back, but I can't lie and say I'm not extremely disappointed because, as the what would have been 2 month date approaches, it just makes me want to cry. I think I'm way too hard on myself.

    Ok, vent over.  

    Have an awesome Monday, everyone!

    Sunday, August 19, 2012

    5 Things - Week 3

    I can't believe it's Sunday already, that this year is over halfway done, or that it's almost fall. This year is just going by way too fast.

    I hope everyone has had an awesome weekend. We spent a bunch of time together as a family, watched some preseason football, did a little shopping, and just relaxed! It felt so good, seeing as how we've been so busy lately.

     1: It's FINALLY football season: (Almost). I know most of you probably are like "ugh, football season means I'm going to lose my husband to ESPN and the NFL Network for the next few months" . But, for us it's super exciting. We LOVE football. I'm not a huge fan of preseason football (because the talented, and good players are usually out of the game by like the first 30 minutes...) If you're a football fan, who are your favorite teams? We're giant Texas Longhorn fans (because that's where I went to college, and grad school..and thankfully my husband loved them before we even met!) and for NFL we like the Denver Broncos. :-) 

    2: We heard another couple talking about DD at a restaurant! It was the weirdest thing. Clint and I went out to dinner with a group of people the other night. Since we had a pretty large party, they sat us in this special area of the restaurant where there was another really large party (like 20 people..). So, we sat down, ordered our food, were talking to the people we went with, etc. when all the sudden we here this lady at the other table talking (extremely loud....) to the group she was with saying "remember that time you spanked mom..." and then her voice got quieter, and we didn't hear the rest, but Clint and I immediately looked at each other like "what the hell". A few minutes later, the ladies husband said "well that last time I spanked you for..." and then his voice got quieter too. Everyone in our group was like "what the heck is going on at that table" and Clint and I were just thinking to ourselves wow, another potential DD couple! It was crazy!

    3: Implement Guide Part 2 is up! Finally. Sorry for the delay, everyone. So, that completes the implement guide. :-) I might do another guide in the future (once I find another topic...I'm all open to ideas!). I'm also just about caught up on comments- yippee!!

    4: Love, Honor, and Obey Him : I didn't link this post to a specific entry, like I've done in weeks past, but this blog is definitely one to follow as Becky develops it in the weeks, months, and years to come. I've been fortunate enough to get to know Becky (and her adorable family!) over the past few weeks, and she's a lot like me. I encourage everyone to read her blog, comment, and make her feel welcome in Blogland! 

    5: This is a genius idea, everyone. I can't take the credit for it (I found it on Pinterest) but I think it's a great idea, and something almost everyone could benefit from. So, here's how it works.

    On your wedding day (if you aren't married), your anniversary, or another special day, you and your loved one write letters to each other (explaining why you fell in love with the person, whatever else you want to say...you get the idea) and then take a bottle of wine, a gift card to somewhere you love...something that you guys enjoy, and put the letters and the object in a box, and seal it up (then, place the box somewhere out of sight, like underneath your bed). Then, on your first big fight (or, really any heated argument), take time to yourselves and calm down, then open the box together and read the letters, drink the wine, make the dessert, watch the movie (whatever you put in there) and it will help you remember why the two of you fell in love in the first place. 

    See, genius idea. :-) 

    Also: Happy Wedding Day to Ash!! She is getting married in just a few days (Wednesday) and Clint and I are so happy for her. Congratulations and best wishes, Ash! We hope your day is perfect.   

     

    Thursday, August 16, 2012

    The Spanking Implement Guide: Part 2

    Last week I put up The Spanking Implement Guide: Part 1 which you can read by clicking here. That part focused more on covering some of the implements that are available, a pain scale, and a few other things. This part is going to focus more on questions that people may have (or that my husband and I have gotten a lot of) regarding implements. Like I said in part 1, I know that spanking implements aren't really something that a lot of DD wives like to discuss. However, I feel it's important because you do have somewhat of a say in what you get spanked with (or what is considered "off the table"). I'd hope so, at least. So without delaying this any further, let's get right to it. 

    The Spanking Implements Guide: Part 2

    The same "warning" that I gave in part 1 is going to apply here in part 2 as well. That warning was this: Some of the links within this entry reference some pretty questionable websites where implements are sold. The link on my blog should link directly to the page with the implement I'm referring to. Anything else that you may choose to find while browsing around the site, most likely, does not reflect on my personal views on what is/is not OK within DD. 

    Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I figured we'd start with a popular question that my husband and I have gotten many times. 

    Where Do You Purchase Spanking Implements?

    In part 1, I linked where my husband and I purchased our spanking implements. However, we only use a few and there are many other types of implements out there. 

    What You Can Purchase At "Common Stores": 

    By "common stores" I mean ones that are found almost anywhere in the United States, and other countries have similar versions of these. These stores are ones like WalMart, Target, supermarkets, that sort of thing. At those stores you can find implements such as..

    • Wooden spoons
    • Hairbrushes (you may not be able to find high-quality wood ones, which are nice because they don't break easily, but you can find plastic ones)
    • Fly swatters
    • Belts
    • Paint stirrers
    • Ping pong paddles
    • Bath brushes
    • Ruler
    • Slipper
    • Cutting board
    • Tilt wand
    and more. As you can see, majority of the spanking implements are covered on that list, because they double as common household items. (Just a note- paint stirrers are typically free in the paint section). 

    However, for those of you who are wanting to use something a little more "made for spanking" (for lack of a better word) you may need to look a little harder. Implements like paddles are hard to find in stores (because what would you use that for, other than to spank?) so you may need to go online for something like that. The following is a list of websites that sell high quality spanking implements. 

    • eBay : You may not think to go to eBay for spanking implements, but you'd be shocked. A quick eBay search of "spanking paddle" pulls up over 100 results, and I'd say well over half are decent. Some of them are even on a "buy it now" feature, as opposed to an auction setting, so you don't have to worry about bidding. Like all items on eBay, the implements you find will really range in price. I'd recommend eBay for items like paddles, however, I'm sure you could also find canes, straps, etc. 
    •  Cane-Iac: This is where my husband purchased a few of our implements (paddle and cane). The site is kind of questionable just in terms of some of the items they sell, but the spanking implements are really high quality. The site sells pretty much every spanking implement you could think of such as paddles (wooden, rubber, lexan, and acrylic), canes (acrylic, lexan, rattan, and wooden), straps, and they also sell some pretty unique implements that I'm not real sure I'd recommend, but they're on there for you to check out. They also sell this pretty neat little gadget called The Spanking Buddy which is for those who like to use their hand to spank. The Spanking Buddy fits over your hand, allowing you to still give a "hand spanking" without it hurting your hand. I've never been spanked with one, but I've heard that it really does work- even though it may feel slightly more intense than a traditional hand spanking. The site also sells a spanking kitchen tool set (with implements such as a spatula, but that are more high-quality and made for spanking), over the knee paddles, and much more. 
    • The London Tanners: I know this is a really popular spanking implement site. We've never ordered anything from here, but just from browsing around their site, it seems their products are really high-quality and their selection is pretty big. Similar to Cane-IAC, the London Tanners sell a wide variety of implements, and they even have their own series of implements called The Domestic Discipline Collection. The one downside, I think, to the London Tanners is that they are a little more pricey than other implement sites. But, like I said, the implements appear to be really high-quality and it's worth checking out. Also, although they are based in the UK, the site does ship worldwide. 
    • Wood Rage: Wood Rage only sells spanking paddles, so if you're looking for other implements, you may want to look elsewhere. However, their spanking paddles are customizable (which is pretty unique), and you can also pick out the type of wood, engrave them, and more. The site pretty much lets you customize the whole thing (including having holes drilled in). So, if you're looking for a wooden paddle, it might be worth it to check out Wood Rage. Also, shipping is free for everyone in the United States. If you don't live in the US, they do ship worldwide.
    • Etsy: Etsy is another site similar to eBay, except everything is handmade. I've ordered a few things from Etsy in the past (that are non-DD related!) and I absolutely love that site. However, until recently, I didn't even know you could order spanking implements off there, but apparently you can! They sell a pretty wide variety of implements, all handmade, such as spanking paddles, straps, etc. at a wide range of prices. If you search "spanking paddles" you'll get about 125 results alone. Not bad, huh?

    There are other implements, such as switches, that you probably won't be able to find in stores, or online. But, for majority of the implements, you should be able to find. :-)



    FAQ Implement Edition

    With the help of my awesome husband, below are some of the most frequently asked questions we've gotten that pertain to implements. My hope is that, by putting them on the blog, it will help others who may have the same questions. 

    What are some "quiet" implements?

    Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where you need to make sure the noise of a spanking is kept quiet (whether it's because of children, roommates, being on vacation, etc.). For those types of situations, the quietest spanking implements that I've heard of are below. 

    • Loopy johnny 
    • Cane
    • Wooden spoon 
    • Tilt wand
    • Switch  
    Some people consider majority of those implements listed above as pretty severe implements (and, some don't. It's just a personal preference). So, for that reason, there are other "quiet punishments" you could do such as silent spankings, corner time, writing lines, etc. But, if you're "dead set" on spanking, there's some options for you.
    What implements are best for beginners?
    When most people first begin DD, they start with the very basics (which I think is a good idea). The "very basics" I'm referring to is usually just the HoH's hand. However, if they want to begin using implements, I recommend easing into them (like with just about all other aspects of DD). Implements like a wooden hairbrush, wooden spoon, or something else thin/light/not very severe like a paint stirrer. 
    What is the best way to prevent or avoid bruises and welts?
    To put it simply: Spank longer, but lighter. This will achieve the same effect, most likely, as a shorter but harder spanking, but will greatly reduce the risks of marks. Additionally, warm up spankings, and breaking the spanking into "sets" could also help. 
    Where do you keep your implements?
    I'm not really sure why this question is so fascinating for people, but regardless, I'll answer it. We keep ours in our closet. However, some couples keep theirs under the bed (or under the mattress), in the dresser, etc. It just varies by couple. But, ours are kept in our bedroom closet. 
    What about spanking with a coat hanger?
    Spanking with a coat hanger seems dangerous to me, only because it seems it would leave a lot of marks. Regardless, I haven't been spanked with one, so I can't say for sure. If someone chooses to use a coat hanger, that's their choice I'm sure there are worst things they could use.
    Any tips for making your own implements?
    Not really, sorry. :-( I don't know much about making your own implements. I've heard of people making their own paddles (and, my tip for that would be to make sure it's really sanded down) and their own loopy johnny's (although I have no idea how). But, unfortunately I don't have any tips other than that. If someone has some, feel free to share! 
    There you have it, everyone! 
    Enjoy the rest of your week! I hope these guides were helpful, and informative, to you. :-)
    -Chelsea