Had to share...

Over the last few days I have been seeing a lot of things on tolerance, community, acceptance, and achieving intergalactic creamy oneness with everyone, and today I received my scopes from the Daily Om and I just HAD to share...because it continued with the theme that is being pointed out to me this week by the Universe!


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August 30, 2009
Different Paths to Oneness
Taurus Daily Horoscope
Your understanding of the significance of everyone’s life journey could make you feel more spiritually awakened today. Acknowledging that all of the people you encounter are part of the same spirit might be a way for you to move more deeply into your own spiritual development. Silently blessing and wishing all the people you meet—those you know and those you don’t know—can be a way for you to more fully accept the diversity of paths that exist. As you pass other people today, you might say a quiet ‘Namaste,’ which means, ‘That which is sacred in me honors that which is sacred in you.’ The powerful force behind this word, you may find, connects you with others in such a profound way that it becomes difficult to see any separation between you and the other person.

When we salute the unity that binds all of us, we are more able to accept the journeys that each one of us is on, for all paths ultimately lead to the same universal spirit. Being able to see oneness and variety at the same time, while it may seem paradoxical, is an important step on our own paths toward enlightenment. It is only through respect of differences that we begin to affirm how interconnected we all are. Honoring this takes time, patience, and most importantly, practice. By seeing the value that everyone’s life has today, you will find greater meaning in your own. 

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The Daily Om has the best scopes to me, they are always accurate, and the way they are written go above and beyond the usual " Your love life will be strained today, and your Boss will be a pain in the ass" stuff that most of them say...

Check out the Om, they are a really cool site and have a lot of great messages...

*Music of the Moment: Rivers of Belief by Enigma*

Domestic Witch: Queen of Cups Giveaway

Domestic Witch: Queen of Cups Giveaway

Blog Pimpin: Give Away at Domestic Witch!

Recently I was perusing some of the new blogs I have found, and as I am a button follower, I came across The Domestic Witch. I fell in love with her blog right away, added her button, and even follow her Daily Home keeping list she post in her side bar.She is a lot of fun and a pleasure to read!

Well she is having a give away, and I wanted to share it with my readers!

In honor of her 100th follower she is having the Queen of Cups giveaway, which includes Lemon Balm, Chamomile, coal, and a Lavender smudge stick. This would be a wonderful gift for one who is just starting down their path!

Here is the link to her post to check it out, and she will tell you how to enter the giveaway!

Domestic Witch Queen of Cups Giveaway

Go, go now and check her out! Not only is this a wonderful giveaway, but she is also an awesome writer, and I think you will enjoy her blog immensely!

Good luck!!

Sparks, either you have them or you don’t

 

 

I was having a conversation with a friend last night, about friendship, and the dynamics of different kinds of relationships, and we touched on a subject I wanted to go into more detail about.

I am not a shy person, but I am a somewhat reserved person. I tend to scope people out for a while before I try to get close to certain ones. My friend said last night that he was glad I stuck by him as he goes through a personal growth period, and has made some mistakes. I told him I did not abandon my friends, and that he stood out to me, which is very rare. He asked me what I meant, and I explained that I have a different way of looking at people than most others do.

He asked me again what I meant, and this is the explanation I gave him, and I am going to add on to that as I have been thinking about it since last night.

Black and White VS Color:

I told him that I “see” people when I meet them or look at them. I do not mean what they are wearing, or how their hair looks today. I “see” part of their inner essence. I do not intrude on them, or anything, it is just how I see them..I tend to look with my mind, and not my eyes. As I told him, 90% of the population I see in black and white. It is a bunch of different people doing the same thing day in and day out. They have no spark, no anima, they are ( forgive me ) cattle. Just a mass of people that slide through grid every day.

But every now and then, someone stands out from the herd…in a sea of grey there comes a spark, a burst of color, and I see something unique and special in this person..and usually they are a kindred spirit. I compared it to thermal imaging…you know where a dead body appears dark blue and green, lifeless, and cold; whereas a live person appears in vibrant hues of red and yellow and orange and lighter shades of blue and green?

That is how my minds eye looks at people. It is not seeing their aura, everyone has an aura, but I have only seen one three times in my life, and only from one person.

Sparks..

I do not have a ton of friends, but the ones I do have are very special to me. I believe in quality, not quantity. They are all people I have seen these colors in, and when I met them, sparks were exchanged, for lack of a better phrase. Our souls sized each other up, found out there was a special link between us, and created sparks when the souls embraced. Crazy sounding I know, but again, that is how my mind perceives it *winks*

It does not always have to be in person however. I have met people online who look like they are surrounded by sparklers, and my best friend Maia is one of them. It is like when you throw a log onto a fire, sparks fly up right? Well she is a bonfire, with dozens of people throwing logs on the fire continuously, lighting the night sky with a million tiny sparks.

I have even met a couple of people here in the world of blogging that sent sparks up to me, and I am looking forward to hopefully building relationships with these people, and finding more as I discover new sites and people!

In the end…

Some will probably thing I am strange now, but that is ok. As one of the Aunts in Practical Magic states: “ My Darling girl, when are you going to realize that being ‘normal’ is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage!”

That is probably the best quote I have ever heard that applies to my life lol.

So that concludes my musings on that subject. Do any of you ever feel that certain people stand out from the crowds in your life? Do you have a story about when you met someone, and you knew right away they were unique and special?

I would love to hear about them!

TTFN!

*Music of the Moment: Mea Culpa by Enigma*

Top 10 things I can't do, but wish I could

1. Sing
2. Paint/Draw in anything other than abstract
3. Chin ups *giggles*
4. Speak and understand Russian
5. Live closer to my friends
6. Bake cupcakes that would not kill someone if you threw it at them
7. Tolerate the freaking heat in the Summer
8. Fly a fighter jet
9. Move to Alaska
10. Never suffer from writers block again *winks*

*Music of the Moment: Blue Lamp by Stevie Nicks*

The long overdue return to myself.

I have always had a very predominate dark side.

I always liked horror movies, and macabre things. I was a Goth of sorts in school. I listened to heavy metal, which they now call classic rock. *Yikes!* I dressed in dark clothes, loved heavy eyeliner and silver jewelry, before and after my misguided Goth Days.

I was comfortable with that. It was me. People accepted it in me, and liked that about me. Some people even loved me because of it.

Then recently I went on an inner journey to “find myself” again, as I have done several times in my life. Come to find out, I was never lost!

For some reason I decided that the very thing that was responsible for who I was in life was the thing that I needed to get away from. I decided I was to “dark” and morbid and to depressed and melancholy.

So I began to morph myself into someone else. I stopped wearing black, stopped wearing make up, stopped doing anything with my hair really. I stopped listening to the same kind of music, stopped reading the genre of books I usually liked. I stopped doing nine tenths if the things that made me happy in the past. I told myself I was “growing up.” When you are married with three kids, you are not supposed to be into those things anymore….right?

I strayed away from the friends I had most of my life. I made new friends, some of which I still have, that embraced the lighter side of life. I started listening to and reading light and fluffy things. Never mind the fact I did not retain even a fraction of it five minutes after I read it.

This was all good and fine for a while, and I thought I was making some kind of headway on my journey. It did teach me a few things about myself, so I guess that was one good thing, and another is I did meet a couple of special people.

A few months ago, all these rainbows and butterflies started to leave a very bad taste in my mouth. I had started to be more depressed than I ever was while embracing my dark side and it confused me. I was all light and fluffy now; I was not supposed to be depressed!

I started noticing my dreams getting darker, and better. They felt more natural. I do not dream of bad things, just they have a dark tone to them. Like a thriller movie of sorts. I also noticed I was listening to the music I liked again, and sought out some new stuff I have never heard of, but was very edgy.

The artwork I liked, the clothing, the music, the stuff I searched for while surfing the net, all pointed back to the way I was before.

Then it hit me.

There was nothing WRONG with me in the first place! I had not changed myself. I had allowed others to tell me that I was wrong. I had allowed others to tell me what I should be, regardless of what I really was, regardless of what was really inside of me!

I was disgusted with myself.

I have now started the slow, decadent descent back into my rightful place in my mind, and in the universe.

There can be no light without the dark. I am not negative; I am just cut from a different cloth than the fluffy bunnies out there. They have there place in the world, just as I have mine. With out each other, none of us would exist!

It’s all about balance.

I can appreciate the lighter people in the universe…but I finally realize I do not have to BE one of them in order to be happy, fulfilled, and complete.

It is time to drag the black band and skull t-shirts out of the closet, put on some eyeliner, do something with my mess of hair, and crank the Metallica back up and get back to the real me!

As long as I am happy, and my family is happy, everyone else can either accept me or get the hell out of the way! Those that love me will love me even if I say “Dark Blessings” as opposed to “Love and Light.” You wanna know why?

Because they are the same thing………

Hope you brought your flashlight, because the path gets a bit darker from here……*winks*

Memoirs of a Crazy Witch: Owls and Butterflies

About my two newest totem animals.

I would now like to share with you the story of the two newcomers into my spiritual life; The Owl and The Butterfly.

I have always been fascinated by owls. When I was three years old, my parents took a leap of faith, bought 17 acres of woods and swamp and we packed up from living in the city and spent the next year living in a tent, and then later a tiny camper while they built the house I grew up in.


I spent my days running naked through the woods, since as a child of three, in the woods, my parents had a real hard time keeping me dressed *Smiles* At night while we sat around the campfire, the screech owls would begin their eerie calling to each other. Low hoots, escalating into hair raising screams would echo through the forest, adding an otherworldly feel to the night.

Over the years, even after we got the house built, I spent many a nights in the Winter, with the vents in my room closed, and the windows open, wrapped in a blanket with all the windows open, listening to the crickets and the Owls all night long.

After a few years, I got married, and moved to the city, and lost the Owl for a long time. But since moving back into the country 3 years ago, my old friend has once again returned to me. I see them flying in the backyard, I hear them most every night, and I see them all over the television, in artwork, all over the pages I visit on the net.

I am particularly drawn to Barn Owls, White Owls and Great Horned Owls.

Here are the main characteristics associated with the owl spirit:

* Wisdom
* Messages
* Transition
* Secrets
* Mystery
* Intelligence
* Mysticism
* Protection

There is a common misconception that owls were Omens of Death. In ancient cultures they were the keeper of spirits and guided the departed souls to the underworld and protected them until they reached their destination.

They are nocturnal creatures, at home in the night. As I have said before, I am very much a creature of the night. I am sluggish during the day, but as the sun sinks below the horizon I come alive.

I am looking forward to seeing what The Owl has to teach me…

This leads me on to the newest of them all, The Butterfly.

This is an odd totem for me, because while I think they are beautiful, I have never been particularly “in” to them.

Now, I can not go outside with out them swarming around me, which is all good and fine until one of them with a 5 inch wing span zooms in front of your face like a Condor ;)

I do not know much about them, as it is an ongoing research project at this time, but here is the little I do know:

Butterfly animal symbolism speaks of:

* Resurrection
* Transition
* Celebration
* Lightness
* Time
* Soul

A lot of things have happened to me recently, ans that has brought on the beginning of a transformation in me. I am hoping to start a new career and there is a lot of mental and emotion things happening. I am also trying to focus on expanding my spirituality and learning more about my path, and I feel that the Butterfly fits into this as well.

So, those are the newest members of my spiritual animal family. Hope you enjoyed reading about them, and maybe this will inspire you to research the animals you are most drawn to or that you are especially aware of, and see what YOUR animal guide is!

Thanks for walking down the path with me awhile……

Memoirs of a Crazy Witch; Wolf Totem

I am going to start with my lifelong totem, and the one I am most drawn to, The Wolf.
I first was visited by the Wolf when I was a child, about 6 or 7 years old. We lived on 17 acres of woods and swamp, and it was my playground. I was walking down by the creek one Winter afternoon, and I was standing on the bank, looking down into the water at the little fish swimming in the shallows.

All of the sudden I felt something watching me, and I looked around beside me and behind me, not seeing anything. Thinking it was my imagination I turned back around to look at the fish and just happened to look across the narrow creek to the other side….and there stood a massive dark grey wolf, staring at me with gold eyes. I froze in my tracks. I was startled, but oddly I had no fear. I sensed no danger from him. He kept eye contact with me as he came towards my side of the creek, about 15 foot downstream of me. The logical part of my brain said ” Well I am wolf dinner” but still i had no real fear. I leaned back ( still standing ) against the tree I was near, and just waited. He came to a stop about 5 feet from me and sat down. Just staring at me. I could not look away from his eyes, it was like I was hypnotized. He made a wuffle sound at me, and did a full body shake, and then he raised his front paw….like when a dog is doing a shake trick. I reached out my hand and he put his paw on my hand, wuffled again, and then took off the other way. He ran to the top of the hill, turned and looked at me for a long second, and then dissapeared over the rise of the hill.

When he was gone from sight my brain kicked in and I was shaking in my boots, and I high tailed it home. I did not tell my dad about it, for one because I was afraid he would hunt it, thinking it would hurt me if I saw it again, and two, it seemed like it was very special, and I did not want to share the feelings I was having at that time. He has walked with me ever since. I saw him twice more in the flesh, but his spirit is always with me, and always will be.

After much research, I have learned the Wolf Spirit has these traits:

Intelligence
Cunning
Communication
Friendliness
Loyalty
Generosity
Compassion    

Over the span of my life, The Wolf has guided me through many trials and triumphs. Even now, as I write this passage, he is with me, guiding me, pushing me to open my mind and my heart, and share my life with the outside world.

As I have more than one totem, I have learned that a spirit animal will only present itself to those of us that share the same spirit and traits, and you can have several through out your life. Some stay with you forever, and some only stay long enough for you to learn the lesson they which to teach you, then move on to let something else take it’s place.
They come to us in many different ways, such as the wolf did for me.
In my next few entries I will touch upon my other totem animals: The Dolphin, The Butterfly, and The Owl.

I hope you enjoy them.

Well then...

It really must be the night for technical difficulties! First Ray's blog template goes freaking nuts, and now, I tried to post about one of my totem animals, and it keeps cutting off the first half of my post! Wtf man....

Oh wait, Mercury is about to go retro again, meaning the communication world is about to be bent over a barrel.  With no lube.

Bleh.

On a good note, I am feeling much better today. I still get a little light headed if I stand up or move to quickly, but other than that I feel pretty normal. Other than my 'leaky cauldron' is back. It happened the same way last month as well. Get sick, feel dead, get better, and start bleeding the very next day. Gee, thanks. Lol...

On a sad note, my Great Aunt, who has long been a favorite of mine, is losing her battle with very widespread cancer. The family has been at her bedside most of the day, they did not expect her to last the night.

Personally I think she is already gone. About 3 hours ago I just felt something, and my mind said " It is done."

I will not find out till tomorrow as I only have the one phone line.

I am using the new editor here on Blogger, and I am wondering if that is the reason my post went all wonky. This new one reminds me of Live Journals set up, and it vexes me as well. But I want to be able to use the new features, like placing a pic where I WANT it, instead of it being at the top, and stuff. Maybe it is because I previewed it...Live Journal always messes up if I preview it as well, might be the case here as well. Hmm.

Well I guess I will close this for now and try to post it, and see if it works. If so, maybe I can get my original post to work!


TTFN!


*Music of the Moment: Slipped Away by Avril Lavigne

Still Alive...Mostly...

No, I am not dead...although I would probably feel loads better if I was lol. I have caught some horrible flu like bug thing...and it has been brutal.

Fever of over 102, full body aches, it felt like I was on fire. Headaches, and my throat, omg, I swear it feels like I am trying to swallow battery acid every time I swallow. The fever dreams were interesting though...

My memory is spotty, apparently I got up and made tea and fed Alex and set her up with a movie on the couch...and I do not remember it. I talked to Jack for 5 minutes on the phone, and do not remember it, but I was out of it enough that he came home from work at noon...and he is the type who will not leave work early unless someone is bleeding to death lol.

I have only eaten a few bites of soup and a half of a ham sammich in two days, and I am pretty sure swallowing live bees would feel better....

Ever since I stopped smoking, I have been sick..so I am starting to wonder if it was worth it lol. Not that I will start again...but you know what I mean.

Dude, my HAIR hurts.....

SO anyway, there is the quick update, I have not killed over yet, but never in my LIFE have I wanted a full body rub...with Vapor Rub...more....

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: Doctor Doctor by The Thompson Twins*

Memoirs of a Crazy Witch: My Craft Name

Choosing a craft name to represent you can be a very difficult choice. There really is no limitation, and you can have more than one, or the one you have now may be outgrown down the road, and something else more fitting can take it’s place.

I was very fortunate. I received mine in a dream, and it is the only true spiritual name I have ever had. I had even considered changing my name legally to my craft name, Belladonna Foxglove, but decided that I would not disrespect my parents in such a way since my middle name was fashioned after my grandmothers.

When I was 17, I had been re-reading my Green Witchcraft book, and had been thinking about what name to choose for myself. Dozens of names ran through my head. My first choice was Dark Angel, as Angel is the nickname people call me, as my real name is Angela. However, that name had been used to an excess by others, especially of the Goth persuasion (which I used to be a big part of) and I wanted something more unique and befitting of myself.

It was the last thing on my mind when I went to sleep that night. Later that night, a dream came to me. I lived deep in the woods at that point in my life, and this was reflected in my dream. I walked outside of my back door, and into the yard. At the edge of the tree line, there was a path leading into the forest that was not there in the real life. I started towards the path, feeling drawn by unseen forces.

I stopped at the edge and tried to peer further into the darkness, trying to see what lay beyond the trees…and got the feeling that some one was calling to me from the forest…just out of earshot. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the path….

Once my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I could see small creatures scurrying around in the trees and on the ground, but could not make out what they were. The path was curving in and out around the trees, and far in the distance there was a faint light shining through the trees. As I made my way towards the light, I could see what I thought were lightning bugs in the darkness, but as one flew near my face, it was a tiny fairy! I tried to follow it to get a closer look, but I could not leave the path for some reason.

I walked faster, as I wanted to see where the light was coming from. The closer to the light I got, the more fairies came out of the dark, until they were swirling all around me.

As I stepped out of the forest, blinding white light surrounded me, and I could not see. I heard a female voice, light and feathery in my ear, that said “Come forward.”

I took a few steps and suddenly my eyes adjusted, and I could see that I was in a field of flowers, thousands of them, in every color and type imaginable. The fairies were everywhere, like butterflies, flitting from flower to flower. It was breathtaking, and I just stood there for a few seconds, taking in the sheer beauty of it. Flowers as far as the eye could see, except in the middle of the field there was a huge old oak tree, and the voice called to me again, from that direction.

I walked slowly to the tree, and as I drew closer, the flowers thinned out until there was only deep, plush grass, so green it was almost blue. Under the shade of the tree were two beautiful flowers, each one surrounded by a golden glow.

The voice then said this to me: “You have been through many hardships my child, and there are many more to follow. The two flowers before you will represent you through much of your life. Both plants represent the duality of your nature. On one hand they are used to heal the body and spirit, but if misused, they can be deadly. Only you will know which choice to make when the time comes. The plant on the left is BellaDonna. The plant on the right is Foxglove. Both are beautiful. Both are potentially deadly. This is my gift to you, and always remember I am in everything you see, and everything you don’t see…”

The voice faded away, and as it did the glow around the plants grew so bright I could not see them, and as it faded, the plants were still there, only they were in pots so I could carry them. I picked them up and made my way back to the forest, and through the woods, only this time the woods were all lit up, and I could see clearly. It was beautiful and serene. I emerged back into my yard, and I planted the two flowers in the flower bed underneath my bedroom window, and as I finished, and gave them water, the golden glow returned and they were astounding in their brilliance.

I walked inside my room, and lay down on my bed, and went to sleep….and then I woke up from my dream in my bed. I knew right then that I had received my name, and from that day forward, I have been, and will always be, BellaDonna Foxglove.

Memoirs of a Crazy Witch

Last year I submitted some things I wrote to a site called Authspot.com and was published on the web. I wanted to share a few of them here..since they are my writing and I have been thinking about them the last few days. Hope you enjoy!

*FYI: I am a few months PAST my 30th now lol*

The Beginning

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step" some one once said to me. Never in a million years did I think I would ever travel on the roads that have brought me to this point.

I became a Witch when I was 13 years old. Religion never played a part in my life until I was about 5 years old, and my tyrant of a father went through a "What does it all mean?" phase. I was then drug to every type of church there was in my county in Northern Florida. He eventually decided that he wanted to be a Jehovah’s Witness for a while. I am not sure why, as he did not follow half of the things they "required" you to, like not smoking for one. He and my mother both were chain smokers.

We attended services there for the next 6 years, 3 times a week. I never embraced the religion. First of all I was a child, and had little concept of a God, and second of all, what I was learning did not feel right to me somehow.

I finally regained my freedom when I turned 13. My Dad decided none of the churches we attended were correct in their teaching, and that I was free to make my own choices in that aspect. I felt as though a 2 ton weight had been lifted off of my shoulders!

About a month after that, my Mom and I were shopping in Barnes and Nobles (which was a rare thing. I lived way out in the woods, and we did not get to go to the mall very often) and I ended up in the New Age section. I shuffled along the isle, scanning the titles on the book spines, when suddenly my eyes landed on a book and I stopped in my tracks. I picked it up, and it seemed warm to my hands. It was the book Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura. My life has never been the same since.

I took the book home and locked myself in my room. I sat there for a while, just staring at the picture on the glossy black and green cover. There was a picture of trees deep in a forest somewhere, with moss hanging down, and it brought to mind a path winding through a dark forest. I devoured the first half of the book in about an hour. Before I read that book, I had only a passing knowledge of things like magic and spirits and things of that nature. Most of what I knew was from movies and fantasy books. Imagine my surprise to find out that a lot of it was real! Well, sort of.

I quickly learned it was not as it was in my favorite books and movies. I had heard the word "Metaphysical" before but at the time I had no idea what it meant. As I read, I learned about energy in a totally different way than what I was taught in school. The concept of raising energy and sending it away from me with a specific intent blew my mind. When I thought of Witches and magic in the past, I thought of The Wicked Witch of the West, Hansel and Gretel, Halloween, my great grandmother, and all kinds of commercial type deals.

I stayed up until long after midnight reading the book from cover to cover, then starting back at page one when I was finished. I had to hide the book from my parents, since I was not sure if they would freak out about it, so I played it safe. Not long after that I ended up buying a book called Wicca A to Z: A Complete Guide to the Magical World by Gerina Dunwich. This was also a very interesting book, kind of like a dictionary of the magical realm. I have acquired many more books on Witchcraft and Paganism in general, but I still have those two after all these years.

After that I ended up straying from my "path" because of some stupid life choices. I ran away from home at 15 to get away from my father, got into a car wreck a week later that almost took my life, got married at 16, pregnant with my first child at 17, divorced at 18, pregnant with my second child at 19, and then I finally woke up when I was 24 and got my life straight. I ended up meeting a Pagan man, and we got married and had a beautiful daughter. With him I was finally able to be my true self, and have grown in leaps and bounds, intellectually and spiritually. I am now a few months shy of my 30th birthday, and as I look back on who I was back then, and who I am now, I shake my head and think to myself, "If only I had listened to the Goddess when she called to me so long ago, maybe things would have turned out a lot different…"

Pardon my dust.

Yes, I know, I am behind again, but as you can see I have been doing a little renovating, already. Not done yet, got a few more things to add...and I want to show some blog love to those that I read most often, so look for that.

Mini update is: Things are calming down around here, after the two weeks from hell. Alex had an allergic reaction to her school shots so that was fun, dealing with that all weekend after spending most of a night in the ER. She is finally back to her normal self today.

No word on school yet, I figured I would give them a week to find out just who did or did not show up, and then give them a call if I had not heard anything by then.

I deep cleaned my kitchen and living room today, and did some laundry.

Tomorrow is the bathroom and my room..and then the kiddos room...if no one hears from me for a few days, chances are something ate me while I was in there lol...

I think that about sums it up for now...I want to say hello to the new followers of course, I am up to 13 now, so that is exciting. I swear I will post more very soon lol.

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: Up All Night by Slaughter*

Top 10 Reasons I Wish It Were November..

1. It would be cooler..finally.
2. Thanksgiving.Food. Yum.
3. The windows would be open and the air or heat would be off.
4. Winter would be fast upon me.
5. I get to bring the down comforter out of the closet and put it back on the bed.
6. Bonfires.
7. Less bugs.
8. Hot coffee and cocoa.
9. Soups, stews, and chili!
10. It would be that much closer to income tax time lol.

You Be The Judge

Alex: Child of Bella and Jack, or secret love child of Bella and Mike Score, lead singer of A Flock of Seagulls??

You be the judge!

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: Scream by Tokio Hotel*

Oh yeah, I forgot!

In all the school hoopla going on around here, I almost forgot to mention that as of August 1st I had been SMOKE FREE for a whole month!

*Balloons and confetti fall from the sky as I sit here and give my best pageant wave*

I do not even have cravings anymore..and I have not used my pseudo cig...aka my "Smoking Pen" in over a week!

Hooray for me!

Now if only my lungs would stop trying to eject themselves from my body by making me cough them up, everything would be grand!!

But hey, I have smoked ( except while I was pregnant or really sick ) off and on since I was 14, and steadily since I turned 18. I just turned 30 in May, so for the better part of 15 years I had a cig stuck in my face. I am proud of me. I did it cold turkey as well. No patches or stuff for me.

Now if I could just get the hubman on the band wagon......

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: Panama by Van Halen*

Mommy Moments

So I am bathing my four year old, and she is all nice and clean, and I tell her I will be right back, I need to get a towel from the dryer...

Right as I am bent over, moving clothes around to get the towel, I hear:

"MOOOOOOM, I PEED IN THE WAAAATERRRRRR!!!!"

So now she has has TWO baths in 10 minutes.

I need to teach this kid how to take a shower.....

*Sighs*

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: Rock The Cradle Of Love by Billy Idol*

Two Top Fives Rolled Into A Top Ten!

Top 5 reasons I dislike weekends:

1. I spend most of my waking daylight hours screaming " CLOSE THE DOOR, and stay IN or OUT!!!" at both my kids AND my husband.

2. Sweeping the kitchen floor of the sand that they track out of said door....repeatedly.

3. The fact that my house looks like a tornado swept through it for 2 and a half days.

4. Hubby hogging the bathroom!!!

5. Having to go through the house 10 times a day turning off every light in the house.


Top 5 reasons I love weekends:

1. No cook Friday's ( If I am lucky )

2. Sleeping in!!!

3. I usually do not have to cook.

4. Hubby is here...dirt and all :)

5. For two days, the most important people in my world are here..with me..right where they are supposed to be..

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: It Keeps You Runnin' by The Doobie Brothers*

Happiness Is....

Happiness is...dancing with your 4 yr. old in the middle of Taco Bell to The Doobie Brothers, and not caring that everyone probably thought I was crazy...

Happiness is.....relishing the cool a/c in my truck on a hot day...

Happiness is....looking at my husband, seeing the worry lines on his forehead, and knowing the reason they are there is because he really does care...

Happiness is....a rare moment to be alone together.....

Happiness is......being content in this moment, not thinking about tomorrow, next week or year, or even 10 minutes from now...

Happiness is...knowing that no matter what happens down the road, that right here, right now, in this moment, there is no where in the Universe that you would rather be....

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: Listen to the Music by The Doobie Brothers*

Lunch with Dad

I was in a deep sleep when I was awoken by the shrill ringing of the telephone....

*Groggily* "Hello?"

Dad bellowing: "ARE YOU AWAKE??"

Me, holding phone a foot away from my ear: " I am now..."

Insert almost 2 minutes of him trying to talk and his cell phone fading in and out. Finally I hang up..and wait. A few seconds later the phone rings and I can actually hear him now, bitching about cell phone reception...INSIDE HIS HOUSE. He has four....FOUR phones in his house, and can't hear out of any of them, hearing aids or not lol. But I digress...

Dad: "Mike and I are going to get Chinese, and I was calling to see if you and Alex wanted to go.."

Me: "Sure, let me get us dressed and I will be over."

Dad: "Ok, see you in a few.."

So I get us ready and head over to Dads, and we head out to The Ming Tree and get a divine lunch. Well after we left there, he drove to Wal-Mart and proceeded to drop 100 bucks on Alex's school clothes and two pairs of tennis shoes...I was amazed!

Her outfits are adorable, and mix and match stuff...and her little shoes are adorable. I also picked up the stuff that my Dad's friend and his wife got Alex for her to start school with, which was all kinds of things, even stuff for the classroom, so the teacher will be very happy when she does start, because she will not need supplies for a little while lol.

After we got back to his place, I helped Mike and Dad shell black eyed peas from his garden for a couple of hours. After Mom breezed in from work to whisk Mike off for an eye exam, I showed her what Dad bought and she seemed really pleased.

It was a wonderful day, and now I do not have to worry about her looking like an orphan when she starts school lol.

Now, again, let us hope a couple of people moved or decided to go to different schools over the summer.

Open house is the 11th, and I am taking Alex, and Mom might go with me, I hope...

So that is what I did with my day. It was a nice visit and I had a good time. it is always nice to visit with the family on good terms.....

Now, time to clean the kitchen...*groans*

Ta!

*Music of the Moment: Cry me a River by Justin Timberlake*

The kindness of others

No, this still is not the blog I intended to write last night, that is still to come.

THIS one is about something really cool that happened today. As some of you have known, we are sending Alex to Pre-K soon, and money has been super tight and I have been worried about how we were going to get all the things she needed. My Mom and Dad bought her a good amount of stuff that was on her list, and I was ( am ) very grateful.

This morn my mom emails me, telling me that her old next door neighbor, whom I have only met maybe 3 times, went fishing with my Dad yesterday, and when he came over he had a huge bag of school stuff for Alex...a backpack, a large towel for nap time, ( no regular blankets are allowed for some reason ) markers, pencils, pencil box, glue, paper towels, wipes and spoons, ( for the classroom, all parents have to chip in ) and washable markers.

I got tears in my eyes as I read that. I could not believe how generous he and his wife were to a little girl they have only met once or twice. Heck, I can not even remember what his wife looks like, I have only met her once. Regardless, that was one of the most awesome things that has happened to me in a long time, and I am so happy and grateful to them.

Mom is going to get my their address and I am going to send them a nice thank you card.

So that is my neat little thing of the day so far. No, I still have not started on her room, and no, I do not want to lol. I still have to figure out what to do for dinner. Does anyone else hate cooking, even for the family, when you are not hungry in the least? It just seems to make it unappealing when you are not looking forward to eating it yourself lol.

Ok, this one is done for now, I will most likely be back later with more!

Ta!

P.S. If you are looking for a good Asisan side dish or killer appitizer, Mrs. B posted this today, and it looks so easy and nom worthy, I am going to try it very soon!

*Music of the Moment: Blue Lamp by Stevie Nicks*

10 Reasons I did not write a normal blog tonight

1. It is still forming in my mind.
2. Alex is driving me bonkers.
3. The kittens won't stop using me as a tree.
4. Facebook. Nuff said.
5. I am getting sucked into reading all these other awesome blogs lol.
6. I had to repaint my nails.
7. Cramps.
8. Sinus pressure.
9. Alex is REALLY driving me bonkers.
10. Finally...I am a horrible procrastinator, and you KNOW this man!!

Maybe tomorrow. It really is a pretty heavy blog to be written...and I tend to chew on them for a while before I write them. Stay tuned!

Merry Lammas! ( Watch out, they spit! )

Merry Lammas to all my Pagan and Witchy folk! I hope that your harvests, in whatever they may be, are bountiful!

Today has been unexpected. I did not manage to get to sleep until 8 am...I went to bed at 4 am and Jack's mind and body were having an argument over whether or not to get up, so he flopped and flipped and generally wallered around like a pig in a mud pit, waking me up every few minutes.

Finally at 8 he got up and I crashed until 2:30 when he and Alex woke me up. He was in a grumbly mood about me sleeping during the day, but after I got up I informed him that at 2am I was sweeping and mopping floors while he slept. He left me alone after that lol.

We grilled out burgers and hot dogs for dinner, and right as we sat down to eat, my Dad and Mike show up. They had been down at Wakulla Beach catching Fiddler Crabs and decided to drop in on their way home. Dad then asked if Alex could go home with him, and I said " Sure!" and not long after they left. Bonus!

Jack and I finished eating and watching a movie, and then we sat and talked for a bit. I am currently looking for a job, and it is tough going. A lot of things have to fall in to place for it to work, because we are strapped for money there is not even any gas money for me to drive around and look, and there is only so much that you can do online. Not to mention until Alex gets into school, there is the matter of a sitter, or finding a night shift job so when he gets off work he can take care of her. Anywho, we finished talking and I put Mad Max in the DVD player for him and got back on here to blog before I go and take a shower.

If the energy hits me, as it usually does late at night, I might tackle some of Alex's room tonight. We shall see.

I ended up having 93 pics on my digi cam, but I got rid of some I did not like, and ended up with 74 lol. Took me the better part of two hours to crop and caption them...I learned a few things about the program I was using to edit pics last night so that was cool. I may upload some to my FB page later, for now only Rayden and Maia got to see them lol. After all that work I was just too tired to upload them to FB..with my slow dial up and all.

At some point I need to do something simple for Lammas, I already did a bread offering, but I might do something else. It is not often I get the chance to do anything elaborate due to Alex.

I started reading a new book today, called: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" by Ron Hansen. Apparently there is a movie about it, or will be, with Brad Pitt, but I do not recall hearing anything about it. I am only 21 pages into it, but I learned that Jesse James was into astral travel, potions and sorcery, as they called it. He was forever mixing potions for ailments and other effects. I also learned he was crazier than a bed bug lol. I had a brief talk about it with my father, and he confirmed it for me as well.

*Random thought: I think I will paint my nails tonight...I have not done that in a while...*

Mom called me today and told me that she bought a lot of things for Alex to start school with. She bought her the sleep mat for nap time, her backpack, a lunchbox, folders, pencils, markers, and something else I can not remember right now. She is also going to buy her a few outfits next week if she can. That was nice of her. They can be evil and stubborn and single minded at times, but if there is a need they do what they can to help.

I have a couple of new followers and I just wanted to say thank you and I will do my best to provide some entertaining reading!

Time for me to hit the showers and get it out of the way..I still have more blog reading to do!

Ta!



*Music of the Moment: "Rockstar" by Nickleback *