Thanks so much...

So the holidays are upon us and I know I haven't been posting much about religion of late, so I would like to take a moment to give thanks for everything I have as well as give you a bit of religion. :)

Let's do religion first. I am still pagan, even though I haven't been "doing" much lately. But I don't believe "doing" is overly necessary. Let me take a moment to define "doing." Doing is ritual, magic with all the props. For the past three or four months, I have not been doing. That does not mean that I haven't prayed, talked to God and Goddess, I have. I have woven my magic without the "stuff," I have spoken my needs and found them filled. I had gotten lost in the "doing," I needed the "being."

My group has fallen by the wayside, not for our lack of wanting the group, but more because of Life. You try it sometime try to get four or five adults, all with families, jobs and other obligations, in the same place at the same time. Maybe one day.

Now for the thanks...

I am grateful for:
my DH and all my babies.
my friends and all their support...You guys' ability to listen to me is amazing! :)
my family.
my health (I have come to understand that my ability to avoid illness may be fairly rare.)
finding my calling.
my students...well the ones that once were "my" students.
the teachers at "my"school and their willingness to help me find a full-time job.

Well time to get the turkey marinating!

Later days,
Em

Summer Cleaning

Well I have gotten the cleaning bug. It all started when our neighbor offered us his piano (he is moving and can't take it with him). So that meant I had to find a place to put it, which meant shifting everything around...and since I was doing that might as well clean the floors and floorboards while the space is empty. SO for the entire week I have been moving, shifting, rearranging and cleaning.

Luckily I am even in the mood to clean the rest of the house where things are not getting shifted around. I guess having two rooms sparkling makes me want it all to sparkle. I have also managed to get the lingering scent of Chloe (my Satan cat that I finally had to give away...she didn't do well with other animals) out of the house. Unfortunately that meant throwing away a really nice rug...but it could not be cleaned anymore. The cleaning guy told me that if he cleaned it again it would literally fall apart. OH well...I got a Wally World special to replace it...that way if one of the current kitties gets mad, I don't have to throw away $500 worth of rug again.

My room is now officially my office. I have moved my clutter catcher (my desk) from the front to where I will use it. The front is where the piano will soon be sitting. :) I did put away my altar stuff, and the altar is now just a coffee table in the corner of the room sporting my stereo and scrap booking stuff. My altar items are in storage boxes underneath it and can be easily accessed. It was quite funny talking to my mom about moving everything around. You could hear the hope in her voice that I may have moved out of a "phase." Of course I am just letting her be hopeful, I figure we didn't really talk about it before so why now.

Speaking of Mom, she has offered to come visit and help me un-wallpaper the kitchen! YAY!!!! I am very excited. We have lived in this house for six years and the wallpaper has bugged me everyday of it. But it is too big of a project for just me. I have painted every other room in the house, except for the kitchen and the two bathrooms (they are wallpapered too). So once I get the kitchen done,I am two small rooms away from this being MY house completely. Meaning my decorations, style, and personality. Not just make do until I get time to do it.

Well that is all the time I have for now. I have to go pick up the furniture dollies to move the piano. And get some more cleaning supplies...it is amazing how many dust cloths and mop heads, and how much cleaning solution one can go through when cleaning a 1400 square foot house! Well I guess the fur may complicate my house a little! :)

Later,
Em

Getting used to alone

So it is the Fourth of July...at 8:55pm and I am at home with the babies...alone. Thats right, no bbq, no fireworks, no nothing. DH is out doing a fire watch for a fireworks show with his radio guys (oh he has a new hobby of HAM radio). So you ask why the hell aren't you there with him? Well that is just it, I could be there but not with him...you have to be in the group to go and stand that close to where things might fall on your head. So I could have gone and fought the crowds ALONE...and that makes you feel that much more alone. So here I sit. I am planning a nice little spa night with a brand new Joss Stone cd. (BTW, she ROCKS!)

All of this is to say that I am getting used to being alone. It gives you time to think. And in my case, study and HOPE for a nice middle school teaching position. The thing that is mildly disturbing is the fact that I am alone in a house with a DH right there. How the hell are you alone when there is another human right there? Almost all the time. That is very disturbing, how the hell did we get here...in the same house yet alone. It is sad.

To add to this, I have lost myself...at least my religion. I am actually considering putting away my altar. Not getting rid of it, just putting away the stuff for a while. I am still pagan, but I just don't want the stuff right now. I guess I need to be alone.

Almost there...

Well guys, I know I have been terribly quiet lately. But I swear it is for a good cause! And I am ALMOST DONE!!! One more paper (which is 2/3's done) and then I am finished! YAY!!!!

I just thought I would stop in and give a bit of an update and some random stuff that has piled up while I have been kicking @ss.

First the family has grown...by three. Three chicks...literally chicks as in baby chickens. In our attempt to be more organic and my attempt at being a gardener, we have decided that chickens would be a great benefit. They (all are female) will lay eggs for us, eat the pesties that my organic attempts at pesticide don't get and they will provide ample fodder for my compost pile. And they up the cute factor in the family too. (If someone could tell me how to post a damn picture on here I would share the cuteness.) They are all little Southern ladies, with the names to match. There is an Orphington Buff named Henrietta (couldn't pass that up!), a Production Red named Scarlett (get it? she is red) and a Barred Rock named Georgette (that means "earth worker" fits for a chicken that is responsible for taring up the yard!). It will be about 6 months before we get our first eggs, but after they start laying we should get about a dozen and a half a week. Any one got any good egg recipes? :)

Okay lets see, what else? Oh I have found a great singer!!! Regina Spektor. She rocks and she has a cool history too. Her music is very funky alternative, with great lyrics and piano, and cool vocals. And she happens to be perfect to study too! LOL Of course now I figure that out.

On to gardening, my bumper crops are still bumping. My sweet basil has managed to recover from whatever it was that was ailing it (I think it was the cold snap...remember when it SNOWED on Easter) and my nasturtiums have started to bloom. Peaches are big enough that I can see them on the tree from across the yard...I can't wait to taste them! YUMMY! I have planted my first two garden boxes, with blackberries and purple potatoes (for those of you that are rolling your eyes right now, yes I have to have everything in purple...and they were the best looking of the seed potatoes available). I am planning on a total of 8 boxes but I have to finish building them...that will be for next week...actually starting Monday at noon!

As far as my group is...well it hasn't been much lately. We have all been involved in life (I am assuming that for the ones I haven't heard from, hope all is well) and obviously I have put most, scratch that, all of my stuff on the back burner until I am done with school. So we haven't gotten together of late.

Well that is all my hands can handle for the typing...gotta save some for later too! :)

Later days!
Em