Warning: temporary hiatus

Just an FYI for anyone that regularly checks out my blog…particularly if I am also a checker-outter of your blog too (and you wonder where I went). I’m taking 18 credit hours of biology and chemistry classes (including labs) this semester…and I have two small children, a puppy and a husband to pay attention to as well (^here we are, minus puppy!).

Unfortunately, this means that blogging is a bit low on the priority list.  As is sewing, painting, reading for leisure, long bubble baths, herbal dabbling (if we don’t NEED it RIGHT NOW, it isn’t getting made!), bread baking, etc…about the only thing I have still been able to do is crochet, because I can take it to class with me!!  I have even been feeding the kiddos Kraft Mac’n'Cheese on my lab nights, instead of making it from scratch.  Poor Scott has had to pick up all the chore slack because my homework load sucks so bad!

I swear I have lab reports, papers and tests due just about every day and I am trying not to get behind while I still pay enough attention to the family that they don’t hate me.   Hopefully, I will get some breathing room soon (or I might just go insane), but until then, don’t expecting much until Spring Break at the earliest, and don’t expect anything new that is good and useful til May!!!  Otherwise, I’m still on at PF.

Blessings!!

I fell because of wisdom

 

I fell
because of wisdom,
but was not destroyed:
through her I dived
into the great sea,
and in those depths
I seized
a wealth-bestowing pearl.

I descended
like a great iron anchor
men use to steady their ships
in the night on rough seas,
and holding up the bright lamp
that I there received,
I climbed the rope
to the boat of understanding.

While in the dark sea,
I slept,
and not overwhelmed there,
dreamt: a star
blazed in my womb

I marveled
at that light,
and grasped it,
and brought it up to the sun.
I laid hold upon it,
and will not let it go.

Makeda, Queen of Sheba (1000 B.C.)
found at Plainly Pagan

Sick-a-dee wants Go-fish

My little chickadee is more like a sick-a-dee…with a little case of the tummy crummies.

Its pretty mild so really–she’s cranky, clammy with the chills, no appetite, and a general complaint of “I don’t feel good Mommy, Sophie berry sick”, with a more specific “My tummy has a boo boo”, and a couple episodes of vomiting. Luckily there is no diarrhea at this point, and while she isn’t keeping down most water or food, she’s doing okay with Sprite and Goldfish.   Actually, all Mommy’s little sick-a-dee WANTS is Goldfish…and the Thomas blankie (which is in the wash for the third time).  I don’t think it will get much worse–her little cousin (whom she likely got this from) only had it for three days, and was only mildly ill as well. But, she’s my baby girl, and I can count the number of times that she has been sick on one hand and still have fingers left over. Daddy is taking it even worse–this is the first time that he has had to deal with his little princess being sick–when she had roseola, he was 5 states away, and the last time she ran a fever he was at sea.

So, we have some ginger simmering on the stove, so I can mix it with Sprite (she LOVES ginger Sprite, and it helps with the urge to worship at the porcelain throne) if she wants something to drink in the night (she usually goes to bed with a sippie cup of water, but isn’t keeping water down)…and we always have a standby liter of Pedialyte in the cupboard.

Unconventional Yarns

My idea of a perfect store would have everying in bulk–BYO bags. Since that is not the case, I was estatic when I discovered plarn. So, you can only imagine my delight when I discovered yarn from t-shirts, yarn from blue jeans, and my latest recycled yarn find: yarn from newspaper…even though I get all my news on virtual paper these days!!

But, I have to say, of all the unconventional yarns I have seen…THIS is my favorite.

food for thought

Emotion is energy, and in order to cause change, it must move.

Where does it move first?  Through you.

Hate, like fear and anger and love and sorrow, is an emotion, and emotion is energy, so in order to be expressed, it must first move through you.  So when you feel hatred toward another person, you’re casting hate upon yourself first.  

The same is true of love, and peace, and joy.  

It’s not a matter of “what you send out you get back times three.”  What you send out doesn’t just come back to you–it starts with you.  

Any emotion you try to horde will turn stagnant and fester inside you–to help it grow, to help it heal, to share it with others, you have to let it flow.

We can make the conscious choice to direct our energies.  We can raise the ones we want to encourage and ground the ones we want to be free of.  We can work to transform energy from negative into positive and channel it into a kinder world, and in doing so transform ourselves…or we can hex ourselves with every heartbeat.  

This is magic.

from Diane Sylvan’s blog, Dancing Down the Moon

 

Today I am reminded that showing anger is as much a validation as showing admiration.   I am surprised that more people do not realize this.  Or that they choose to remain embroiled in hatred or anger or envy or fear.  I am not saying that feeling these emotions is bad–we are, after all, human….but letting them define our mood, color our opinion, letting them fester in ourselves is certainly not healthy.

Let it flow.  Let go, and let it flow.  Don’t let it define you. 

Winter Holiday Post Mortem

I love Christmas, from LBJ (Little Baby Jesus–not Lyndon B Johnson) to mistletoe…

But taking our religions path into consideration, the mistletoe affinity is understandable and LBJ, not so much.  I sort of agree with the hubby’s assessment that the Christmas story is a “tedious (we differ on the tedium assessment) load of BS”, but really, the Christmas story no more a load of BS than any other myth. And the veracity of a story has never been the point of myth. Whether it is the celebration of hope fulfilled by one night’s oil lasting for eight, the hopeful promise of a baby boy, or hope in progress as we wait for the sun to rise from it’s longest sleep, the three holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas and Yule represent a similar theme: the celebration of man’s greatest gift (or according to my interpretation of another myth, one woman’s greatest gift to man).

To be honest, if I could celebrate any of the winter holidays, I think my preference would be for a Longest Night celebration à la Jacqueline Carey’s Terre d’Ange…drinking joie and reveling in masqueraded soirées. Too bad modern society has eschewed the fantabulous balls and glorious clothing of yesteryear…  Instead we have rampant commercialism, unabashed greed and a thousand different fattening foods staring you down at every turn.

This year we celebrated Yule at home with a simple meal, a simple ritual (because the kids wouldn’t handle anything else) and an early visit from Santa…because, if you think about it, Santa is the the ULTIMATE wizarly sort of fellow.  For the past two years, that has been the extent of our winter holiday celebrations…but now we have moved back home…and so, we celebrated Christmas Eve with my father and step-mother, Christmas Day daytime with my mother, step-father and brothers and finally Christmas Day evening at my aunt’s with the extended family.  Next year its the hubby’s family’s turn, so we will be taking an 8 hour roadtrip with the kids…and the dog.

I think I would just be thankful for something that didn’t include running a pair of toddlers around to a half dozen different locations and praying they A) don’t draw on someone else’s walls, B) don’t ruin their outfit between places, and C) don’t have a total meltdown from overstimulation. 

Add to that the massive cleaning effort for the New Year, and I need a nap.

…and maybe a maid–after all that trouble, the house is already messy, and I don’t have the urge to clean up after two kids, a dog and a husband AGAIN.

Mission: Clean in the New Year

Today, I can’t shouldn’t be typing…I have one room done, and five more to go.  And that doesn’t include vacuuming or scrubbing the floors, taking down the holiday lights or re-organizing the sorage unit.

I’m not big on superstition or on resolutions for that matter, but I am much of the opinion that how you start something influences how you complete it.  This year is going to be hard enough with me going back to school and our significant (further) reduction in income.  I am determined that we are going to bring in the New Year with a clean, cleansed, blessed and refreshed home.  Even if it kills me.

And for tomorrow:  The annual Polar Plunge at Smitty’s Marina in New Athens, IL…proceeds benefit the local food pantry.  Because NOTHING says a great New Year like jumping into the Kaskaskia River in the middle of winter.

In 5 words…

While parusing the internet with two squirmy children and one squirmy puppy in my lap last night, I found something that caught my interest.

I’m a bit of a fan of author Karen Armstrong (former nun, athiest, tv host, religious historian, writer of A History of God–and quite a few other books, and 2008 TED prize winner), who launched a campaign called Charter for Compassion.  One of the signatories of which is the Queen of Jordan, who has her own campaign for global education…being a internet cruising junkie, I had to check it out.

The challange is to come up with a picture or video–no more than 5 words or 5 seconds.

Three Smelly Crafts

Applesauce Spice Ornaments
These wonderfully scented and easy to make ornaments can be used to decorate your Christmas tree, tie to a present, hang on the wall, or give as gifts. Store them in a tightly closed container.

1 cup ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground cloves
1 Tbsp orris root powder
1 cup applesauce

In bowl combine ground spices and orris root. Stir applesauce into powdered mixture and mix well. Gather mixture into workable balls and place on tabletop covered with wax paper. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness, using cinnamon as flour dusted on wax paper and your rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes. Place on cardboard. Make a hole for hanging by using a toothpick or drinking straw. Use the edge of the straw to smooth any rough edges of ornament. Allow to air dry for approximately 1 week. To speed drying time turn them over every other day

Scented Ink

12 walnut shells, crushed (I recommend a hammer and a sock)
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 c smelly herbs

Bring shells to a boil and simmer about 45 minutes or until dark brown and at a slightly thicker consistencey…alot of the liquid will evaporate…add a 1/2-1 cup of a favorite smelly herb (depends on the strength of the walnut smell, which varies) in the last 10 minutes. Remove the ink from the burner and let it cool and then strain into a jar and add the vinegar and salt to preserve the ink… Use with a feather quill or other calligraphy implement.

I found this on a teacher website somewhere…I think the recipe was for lavender… I would think that you could also add a couple drops of a favorite essential oil…also that this would be a good way to incorporate writing into spells and such, by chooseing herbs that correspond with the spell work….

Pomanders
from here

[To make a pomander, stud an orange, lemon, or other firm-fleshed fruit with whole, stemmed cloves. (Apples, lemons, tangerines and oranges work best. ) It's easier to insert the cloves if you poke a hole first with a nail or knitting needle; space them evenly and as close together as possible, and it is common to make studs in a decorative pattern. The goal is to cover the fruit with cloves as completely as possible. If you’d like to add additional nuances of fragrance to the pomander, place powdered spices like cinnamon or powdered dried lavender in a paper bag, and shake the pomander inside the bag until it is coated with the scent. Add powdered orrisroot as well, to promote quick and even drying. Curing time average around 3-4 weeks, but in a heated house, drying time can be less. To check if your pomander is dried, it should sound hollow when tapped with your knuckle, and feel light in weight. If you notice any mold or decomposition in your fruit, then throw it out. Once the pomanders are sufficiently dry, wrap them in cheesecloth or tissue paper and tie the top with a bit of yarn or ribbon, tying a cinnamon stick and rosemary twig into the bow if you want.

Cramps

Once a month (although, since I am on implanon, its more like every 6-8 weeks or so) I hate being female. Sure, I get how I should feel empowered by my ability to bleed, embrace my womanhood by painting with my menstrual blood and that I should just *know* that bleeding for 3 months out of the year makes me powerful.

Please, spare me the post-modern feminisim bullshit until I am no longer bleeding like a stuck pig. And while you are at it, you can keep the sappy magic of femininity/creator of life crap as well–been there, created two. Pass me a damn Midol, make me a cup of tea and let me wallow in my freaking misery. 

Luckily, I found this while digging thru my old PF posts yesterday…

Rice Sock Re-heatable Pad

(directions from one of babyfit’s natural parenting email newsletter)

1. Fill a large tube sock with dry, uncooked rice (Dig into your lonely mismatched sock basket, and give one a new life!). Add enough rice so that the sock is full, but still flexible.

2. Seal the loose end by tying or sewing it shut.

3. Place in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Once heated, the rice sock will deliver heat for about 30 minutes.

4. Apply your hot rice sock to any area of the body to relieve muscle aches and tension. Or have your labor partner roll the sock up and down your back.