Wildlived Living

07/10/2025

This saying always helps me have grace for myself and my family.

Anyone else?

It’s taped to my desk in my office and it’s a daily reminder that perfection is a dangerous myth and “hurry is not my healer.”

These and others (theres gender neutral ones as well) are on my Etsy shop … yup, did you know I have one of those too? Using these cards in party favors, encouragement cards, or just leaving under strangers windshields is a wonderful way to remind people to stay balanced.

Check them (and my other printables) out here: https://wildlivedprintables.etsy.com

07/06/2025

Lol I feel both attacked and seen at the same time. Does this ring true for anyone else?

07/03/2025

https://amzn.to/44c6cwe

Good morning friends. To give you some encouragement, theres also a messy side of living a wild life and thats exactly where I am right now …. I’m sure you all have no idea what I’m talking about 😉

This is my garden: because bad weather, pregnancy exhaustion, working Mama, and a semi-feral toddler. Yes, all that is standing water, weeds, and dying tomato plants.

But it’s a season and even when it’s a mess, you can still have eyes to see the beauty … you might just have to look a little harder or closer.

On to tackling at least a little of the mess with some favorite gardening tools

06/27/2025

Friends, don’t let fear hold you back from anything: from loving, from dreaming, from reaching, from living.

06/25/2025

https://amzn.to/4kUlyv9 Can I just say what an absolute lifesaver this collapsible triangle slide set has been? Talk about the perfect birthday, end of school year, baby shower gift! Just speaking from personal experience, if this can stand up to@my child it can stand up to any child! We collapse it and put it behind the couch (except for the half circle attachment it comes with) and it is regularly used for a slide (duh), a performance stage, a mountain, a cave, a ball launch, etc. And just FYI because I’m all about saving $, it’s mega right now. Please use my link at the top

06/24/2025

Whelp, after some adventures I have my first summer flip flop fatality!

Well, more casualty because this is a flip that won’t flop into the trash can.

Welcome to a new weekly series I like to call . Because I am always passionate about reducing, reusing, recycling, and replenishing, every Tuesday I’ll show you one of my tricks that will keep something out of the trash AND typically save you $.

In comes … Shoe Goo! This is a product in constant stock in my household. Ive often even heard of parents saying how often they have to buy shoes for their kiddos because they’ll start to fray after 6 months, and this product has given my shoes years more of life. Flip flops, my husbands sneakers, those beloved ballet flats.
Use my link below to check it out and support my small business.

https://amzn.to/4kbDKiN

06/23/2025

Does anyone else seem to have the constant tug-of-war between “I don’t want to buy anything else for at least a month” and “oh that would be really helpful/beautiful/useful.”

Oh the constant barrage of decisions.

I never want this page to add to the barrage of “oh, you should buy more and more and MORE” … but, let’s be honest, on this side of eternity things are just going to be needed and I want to help you find products that are cheap and will last (and allow you to avoid the ever-fun trips to the UPS store for Amazon returns.)

In the words of the 1990s classic “Angels in the Outfield”, “less is more.” “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown actually had a good perspective on this. This book actually helped keep me in that mindset in a lot of different ways, not just in buying, and I highly recommend it.

Essentialism is more than a time-management technique. It is a for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter. By forcing us to appl...

06/13/2025

For my work I’m enjoying attending a leadership conference at James Madison University, based on a book “Leading with a Clear Purpose” (buy it on Amazon at the link in the comments.)

Have you ever experienced bad leadership?

Yup so have I. It’s everywhere.

But, so is good leadership!

Cultivating good leadership has already intrigued me, either for home, community, or work, and it’s already been a great event! ThanDove Development & ConsultinginNew CreationioHarrisonburg Fire DepartmentenBridgewater VA Police DepartmentenAppeal Productionion, and so many others!

“People rarely shy away from tasks due to difficulty, risk, or level of compensation. If they did, there would be no such thing as positions like VOLUNTEER firefighter. Individuals involved commit their time and energy because the work connects to their purpose!” -paraphrased from the book you should check out

06/09/2025

Hey Wild-lifers! We’re in full summer mode and we’re excited by and … think we’ll survive it? We kinda planned 4 road trips in the span of 6 weeks.
This most recent one I was redeeming my husbands Christmas gift for me: Samara Joy concert tickets in Norfolk!
If ANY of you are jazz fans like we are … y’all this girl is Ella Fitzgerald reincarnated. Did things I didn’t even know a voice could do with a range sent from heaven without missing a single note or beat.
I encourage you to check her out, you won’t regret it! https://amzn.to/4dPWjaG

05/27/2025

And what else to do on a sick day? Drink tea and cuddle with the puppers, , and the fluffers

Of course one of my favorite teas that I once tried in a labor and delivery course with my last pregnancy I can never find in stores, so it’s good enough to buy in bulk … wanna try? It tastes like magical sweet floral lemonade

https://amzn.to/4kCHMRO

05/27/2025

Whelp, I’m sick and it’s rainy outside.
Sigh. What’s a girl to do?
I don’t know about you, but the last thing on my mind for either type of day is doing my hair and I wanted to share that I found this AMAZING deal for my favorite dry shampoo on Amazon.
Batiste allowed me to go 2-3 days without washing but at $6 a bottle even at Walmart, my cheap wallet was cringing. If you have the same problem and want to same solution, use this affiliate link.

Batiste Shampoo Dry Blush 6.73 Ounce (199ml) (6 Pack)

05/23/2025

Hi wild-lifers, I’M BACK! After a couple year hiatus I decided it was time to breathe new life into this page and let it discover its new identity.

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Kristina Oates, a 34 year old mother, full time homemaker, part time employee, to do list ju**ie, book enthusiast, friend, wife, you get the picture.

I’m a helper in life. That is what I am and what I’ve always been. Sometimes it’s gotten me into sticky situations or reminds me that boundaries are still important, but I do feel that it’s my spiritual gift and it brings me a lot of joy.

Which brings me back to this page: from the most budget friendly baby snot sucker (IYKYK) to my days night must-haves (PG version) to book recommendations for gardeners to life hack products that have been personally tested by me, I want to share what limited and humble knowledge that I have been able to gain within the past 15 years. Maybe I help someone who doggy now is where I was 10-15 years ago.

If you’re a “wild-lifer” or inspiring “wild-lifer” at heart, come join our community and bring others along with you, because life is just sweeter with friends.