Create Your Life Studio

12/22/2025

🌲

11/23/2025

Santa Barbara Public Library-Central Branch
Teen Relax & Craft 🫟 🖌️✂️🖍️🎨 🧶
Saturdays from 3pm- 4:30 pm. 🆓 Teen Area
All supplies included! Bring a friend! 🆒

11/20/2025

🦃🌲🕯️
✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1443904837740961&id=100063643748586&mibextid=wwXIfr

Next week is Thanksgiving, a holiday of football, questionable side dishes, and the annual debate over whether the turkey is moist or not. But for some of us, the idea of stuffing and cranberry sauce doesn’t bring comfort; it just underscores the empty chair at the table and the piece of our hearts that's missing.

Let's be honest: the only thing “stuffed” right now is our list of emotions.

While everyone else passes the gravy, We’re passing memories back and forth, hoping one still makes us smile instead of tear up. The truth is, the menu can be as traditional as a Norman Rockwell painting, yet there’s still nothing on it to fill the ache where our loved one should be sitting.

I know there’s advice out there, (I’m often the one giving it), light a candle, make their favorite dish, raise a toast. And yes, I’ve suggested setting out a plate just for them, but honestly, the idea that their portion of mashed potatoes might go uneaten feels rude. They’d probably never approve of wasting good food.

Maybe this Thanksgiving it’s really just about learning to accept the “happy-sad” moments.

Nobody wants to be the one who brings the sadness to Thanksgiving, right?

But if we’re making awkward jokes at the table about our dead person, we can only hope that people know we’re not just being cynical, we’re just trying our best to survive with whatever scraps of the memories we have left.

Because sometimes…what feels most present is the person who isn’t.

So if you’re like me, already bracing yourself for the moment when someone asks, “What are you thankful for this year?” remember: it’s okay to feel all of it. Maybe what you’re grateful for is surviving another year, even if you did it holding your broken heart together with duct tape.

Maybe it’s sharing one small memory of the person you miss, so their spirit shows up alongside the pumpkin pie.

However you patch your way through next week, this season isn’t a fix for grief, and you don’t have to fake being happy either. If you find yourself needing to pass on the stuffing but extra helpings of patience, that’s completely allowed.

So let’s make a toast to the missing, who’re still with us in every way we can find.

From my grieving heart to yours: even if Thanksgiving looks nothing like the commercials, we’re still at the table, together in our loss.

Gary Sturgis – Author Gary Sturgis

11/19/2025

Content Warning:



https://fb.watch/DsUq-CAV99/?mibextid=wwXIfr

11/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/reel/790448896676131?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&mibextid=wwXIfr&fs=e
🖤

10/24/2025

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=122243155310083202&set=a.122127135518083202&type=3&mibextid=wwXIfr

To the parent worried about how to feed their family if SNAP doesn’t get funding next month,
I see you.
You’re not lazy. You’re not a failure.
You’re a mom or dad trying to make something out of nothing. ❤️

When the pantry shelves look empty and the fridge light feels too bright, here are real ways families survive when there’s nothing left to stretch:

🥫 Go to the food pantries.
No shame. That’s what they’re there for. Many don’t ask for proof, just show up.

🍞 Check your local schools.
Even outside of session, some districts give free breakfasts and lunches. You just have to ask.

🥕 Look for community gardens or gleaning programs.
People post extras all the time! apples, veggies, eggs. Don’t be afraid to take what’s offered.

🍳 Cook from the basics.
A bag of rice, beans, or pasta can turn into meals for days. Add broth, canned veggies, or eggs, feed bellies, not pride.

🍼 If you’ve got littles, apply for WIC.
It’s separate from SNAP and still running in most areas.

🧺 Find mobile food drives.
Search “Feeding America” or your zip code + “mobile pantry.”

🧃 Community fridges exist now.
“Take what you need, leave what you can.” Check local Facebook groups.

🍎 Ask for help.
From neighbors, family, church… even a local mom group. People want to help. You’d do the same for them.

💔 And please remember:
You’re not a bad parent because you’re struggling.
You’re a good parent in a broken system.

You’re doing everything you can to keep little bellies full.
That’s love in its truest form. 🤍

10/23/2025

🖤
https://www.facebook.com/cnn/videos/564696652772688/?fs=e&mibextid=wwXIfr&fs=e

10/23/2025

Santa Barbara Food Bank
Free Food for those in need.
🍎🍞🥚🥛🥪🫐🥔🥕🧅🥗🍜🍼🍓

10/15/2025

10/14/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_2mQJZN1Y-/?igsh=N25ra3ZiZ3Z4eXZm
🎨📚🖌️

09/25/2025

https://thriveworks.com/blog/how-narcissists-control-you/
☠️☠️☠️

Learn how narcissists use gaslighting, love-bombing, and guilt to control others. Spot the signs and get expert tips to protect yourself.

09/04/2025

A Warning for the Abusers

The little girls you terrorized
will grow up into women
with backbones so powerful
that they will set your lives
aflame to dance upon the ashes.

🔥 Nikita Gill