do you live in a cabin in the woods?

Isn't that the witchy dream???? At least, it is for me. I don't live in a cabin though, I live in east van and in a quite urban environment. ⁠

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I need to live close to resources, like my audiologist, doctor, etc., and all of those things are in the city. I am in the doctors office, or some kind of medical appointment every 1-2 weeks, so unfortunately to my cabin-envy wishes, those services are here and not in the woods, so a city dweller am I.⁠

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I do make sure that go into the deep bush, and spend time in nature. With people, but also with my self. I try to get away even if its just for a day or 2 a few times a year. It helps a lot when I do it. If I can't afford it (mentally, physically, or financially, etc) I will spend a lot of time in parks, and find a nice tree to ground with. ⁠

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You do what you can, where you can, how you can. It's not about living the perfect life for me. It's about doing what works and finding pleasure where you can. ⁠

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Where do you live? If you had to choose between physicial, mental health resources, or medical resources and living in a naturey environment, what would you choose? For a lot of wooded folks I know, they felt like if they lived in the city it would be worse, so their self care looks different than mine. Everyone has their own choices. ⁠

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Would love to hear your thoughts, and hear about your choices too. - Heidi⁠

// Originally posted on Instagram on December 31st, 2022.

do you cut your own hair?

YES YES I do! If you want to know how to home cut a shag hair cut, long or short, it is very easy and I will describe the steps below:

1. comb your hair

2. for straight hair, make sure that it is more or less flat. if you have wavy hair, or differently textured hair, you can dampen it and then cut it. or just leave it be, your choice. you know your hair best.

3. put your hair upside down. if you want, brush your hair upside down. i don't brush my hair upside down, but you are welcome to if you like that sort of thing.

4. grab the end of your hair and pull it away from your hair like you have an imaginary unicorn horn or narwhale horn.

5. cut the tip of your horn where you want the longest part of hair to be.

6. make an intention with your hair to release or renew something and compost it. for me i do this while my head is upside down and the cut hair is already in my hand.

7. stand up straight, fluff your hair and see how your hair lies now. it should be in shag hair cut, with your hair in different layers.

8. if you want shorter bangs, you can cut those shorter after. you can use this process to cut long bangs though, that's what i have.

ASIDE for me the shortest part of my hair is my bangs, which are chin length, and the longest part of my hair is mid back. i cut them all in one horn, so all my hair gets cut at once.

i used this haircut to go from short shag - where the longest part was my normal length bangs - to go to a long shag where i grew my bangs, and with it the rest of my hair, out to a longer length.

repeat every 6-8 weeks or as needed! tag me in any attempts that you do if you post it on insta or feel free to dm me the photos too. xox heidi.

// Originally posted on Instagram on December 19th, 2022.

are hearing aids expensive?

Heidi here - YES! Yes they are! My next pair will be 7.5K plus tax. ⁠

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I need to buy new hearing aids because the ones I have now have the warranty expired as of Feb/23 and so I need to get new ones. For those of you who don't know, hearing aids are always falling apart or breaking from wear.⁠

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I have skeleton c-shells, which means I have a plastic mold bit that connects to the over-the-ear part. That part can get separated from the wires, or snap in half from wear, and I am in and out of the audiologist's office every 1-2 months for something like that. ⁠

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I could buy less good hearing aids for 5K but the 6.8K ones have a bit of intelligent sound design. Hearing aids pick up all sounds equally and amplify all sounds equally without that. So if I am talking on the phone and boiling water in the kitchen and there is no one in the house, I won't be able to hear my friend because the kettle is too loud. So I want to get the intelligent sound feature because it will identify human sounds and amplify them louder than the other random sounds around you.⁠

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My current aids have the "good" intelligent sound design, but the 6.8K ones have the "excellent" intelligent sound design. It won't get rid of all the other hassles of wearing aids - the chaffing, the ear pain, the intense ear wax (gross, I know) - but it will make it easier to talk with people, and I like that. ⁠

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Anyways, yes. Hearing aids are expensive, and I'm working on buying my next pair. No, they are not covered by medical, it's considered an extra expense. But you can write it off in your taxes. ⁠

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Hope that helped any curious folks out there. What are your questions about hearing aids? I will put them in the questions for the future. ⁠

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Sending love,⁠

Heidi⁠

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// Originally posted on Instagram on February 11th, 2023.