Project Declutter

To begin, I will not attempt to plan the whole year at once. I will focus on one month at a time, with the plans being made on the first of each month. Here is the plan for de-cluttering my home, my health, my spirituality and my sanity for January.

Kitchen, one drawer and one cabinet at a time, starting today, January 1, 2010.
An ideal time to do this would be with my iPod in my ears, and lots of wine in my system, so the task will not overwhelm me so much.

I will spend time every morning with a quick chakra balance and a thank you to the Universe. I will observe the sabbats and esbats, even if only with a quick acknowledging prayer of just saying “Hi.”. I will consciously calm myself and keep a “just float downstream” attitude and not let myself get worked up about things over which I have no control. Spells, certain jewelry, colors and stones are positive focuses to aid me in this.

I will walk a minimum of 10 miles per week.

I will decrease the junk food and increase the raw vegetables, fruits, whole grains.

I will start now.

Myn Lykings

You have to understand, I have been a chorister for so long that it is part of the definition of she who is me. Myn Lyking is a centuries old song about how the Mother Mary felt about her Sweete Sonne (pardon the Olde English spelling, but, as I said, choir nerd for lo, these many years...)

Plus, Pagan though I am, the BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary)is dear to me. Not because of her virginity, but for her motherhood.

Hence, this song has long been a lullaby to myn own Lykings. Hence, the YouTube link and the pictures of my dear ones and Sweetings.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APgtbPS1smc

Behold, the charming and tranquil village. Little do the inhabitants realize, a 9 year old boy has placed snipers in their midst.

Salem, at last!

I traveled 1000 miles to the Northeast and spent my 37th birthday in Salem, MA. I have wanted to go to Salem ever since I saw the Bewitched episode when Samantha, Dum Dum, and Endora went; that bed warmer that followed Samantha because it was really a warlock under a spell -cast by Serena of course, really stuck in my head.

The desire was cemented when Hocus Pocus came out in 1993. I just knew Salem would seem to be tailor made for little ol' me, if I could ever just get there! In my fertile imagination, I have made up alternative identities for myself in which I live in Salem, have a shop selling my magickal crafty wares and live above the shop. I have decorated the shop and my loft above it in my head many many times. I actually found the EXACT place I had been imagining while I was there. It carried a different name than the one in my head, but there it was!

It was very important to me to take this trip all by myself. I just wanted to be ME for those 5 days. Yes, I talked and texted those I love, but my time was my own. I slept when I wanted, ate when and what I wanted, strolled where I wanted and sat on park benches in the Salem Common listening to my iPod and stitching on a Celtic Knot when I wanted. It was absolute bliss.

Blessings

This has been the most beautiful October in my recent memory. The temperatures have been really mild with only a couple of hot days, and the leaves have been more vibrant than I have seen in years, probably because of all the rain we've had. Most people around here have been miserable because of this sogginess. I am not one to complain about the rain; I love and praise it.

I work in a beautiful quaint North Alabama town with gigantic old houses, huge trees and Autumn street festivals in the antebellum courthouse square. I love to take walks when I am on my breaks. It's wonderful to get away from my little cubicle and go and stretch my legs in the fresh cool air. On my walks today I swear there were recently carved jack o lanterns on nearly every porch! There were carpets of bright yellow leaves to swish through with plenty left in the canopies over my head.

My most poignant form of worship is to just say "Thank You" and mean it to the depths of my soul. I had "church" on the sidewalks of this little town today. This gratitude invariably spills out of my eyes in the form of tears and out of my solar plexus in the form of exuberant laughter.

Blessed Samhain

Another from Work Toni to Home Toni

Dear Home Toni,
I did very well at lunch today dutifully ignoring the red velvet cake and deep fried chicken fingers available, instead choosing corn on the cob (with no butter) carrots, mashed potatoes, and white beans, with skim milk and a multivitamin to wash it all down I even took a lunch break 3/4 mile stroll!

I'm thinking since we managed to walk 17 miles last week and felt fabulous, we should do 20 miles this week. This is certainly attainable, since the mornings and evenings are cool.

Now, we have to come to Jesus. Lay off the chips. This is non negotiable. You can exercise like a demon and still not be healthy if you gorge on Doritos 3 or 4 times per week. Switch to Baked Scoops with salsa for your fix. You can even eat them for supper.

PS, please order the kids' Halloween costumes so that they will come in the mail on time.

Happy 38th Anniversary to my parents!

DC Rocked!

It was so wonderful to see all of this with my very own eyes! Click on the photos to embiggen them.

The Library of Congress













The Capitol




















My parents and Lina and Huck on the steps of the National Archives on the 4th of July






My Man President Obama's current home










The view from the front porch of Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home in Virginia












Huck with the Washington Monument behind him as we were about to go into the Lincoln Memorial

I hit 3 Smithsonian Museums as well (American History- I never wanted to leave that one, Smithsonian Art Museum and the Natural History Museum), along with the National Portrait Gallery. We went to the National Archives, and Chris took the kids to the Aquarium after they saw the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Contitution (All original! Wow!) so that I could spend a couple of hours there alone with my thoughts in that holy place. And look what was waiting for us when we got home-Baby Titter Tats!

Stuff and Fluff

I love my job! I'm still learning the ropes, but feel I will have it all down in a couple of weeks. Today I did 8 outpatient surgery and 15 Inpatient charts. That's quite an improvement over my first day's grand total of 2! My codes aren't as perfect as I would like for them to be, but since 80% of what I encounter in these charts is new material for me, I just need to cut myself a little slack. Sure I know how to code. But do I know how to get to a lithotripsy code when the doctor doesn't actually call the procedure lithotripsy, even though that's what it is? Well, yes, I do now. But I didn't when I first read through the chart. Sometimes I think my brain is going to leak right out of my ears, overflowing with all this new information.

I have solved my sedentary problem. It only costs me $20 per month, deducted from my check as the facility is affiliated with the hospital where I work. Everything a body could want in a gym is right across the road from my little cubicle.

We leave for Washington D.C. on the 3rd and will be back on the 10th. DC is going to rock on the 4th of July!

Quite a day for Mothers

Thumbelina made this for me. Note that she did it in autumn colors, as they make me the happiest :-)

My own mother is in the hospital. She had knee replacement surgery on Thursday and was discovered to have an MRSA infection that had to be treated with two rounds of IV Vancomycin. She is running a low fever of 100.2 or so, and I am really trying not to worry. I've talked to her several times and she sounds fine, but I know that she tends to put up a strong front. If she says her pain is a 4 on a pain scale of 1-10, in reality she is at an 8 or so.

I have worked nearly 50 hours this week, and today is my first day off since last Sunday. So, this morning I am going to hang with her at the hospital and see for myself how she is doing. I am going to completely annoy the nurses by asking specific questions like "what was her white count when the infection was first discovered and what is it now?" etc...

I am also going to take her some contraband. She loves Chris' cooking, and he grilled some tenderloin and yellow peppers, zucchini and purple onion last night for supper. He made some garlic and cheddar mashed potatoes to go with it, and since she isn't on any special diet, I am going to sneak a plate to her to give her a break from hospital food.

I may be married to the Easter Beagle

Spring is Chris' favorite time of year and he loves to spread the joy. He stopped on his way home from work and cut the wisteria for me. I woke up to the bouquet, wine and stuffed bunny a few days ago, and he and the kids colored 5 dozen eggs last night.

He gets positively giggly and giddy when dogwoods bloom and he can be surrounded by fresh new green leaves on trees. He stretches out on the porch swing and reads when he has a day off, and is hard pressed to come inside for any reason.

I, on the other hand, am Linus, waiting for the Great Pumpkin. To me, April is the cruelest month, because the warming begins. I rejoice in the turning of the wheel of the year, and I know that I will enjoy the fresh herbs and tomatoes in the next few months. Of course, I marvel at the beauty around me, but blue skies and sunshine make me melancholy. Already I am yearning for the gray skies of Autumn, jack o'lanterns on front porches and orange leaves swirling in a brisk breeze.

Happy Birthday to My Daddy

A Love Letter

Thumbelina's and Huckleberry's teachers had the most beautiful request for their students. They asked the parents, guardians etc... to write love letters to them for Valentine's Day.

The letters were to be written in longhand, with actual pen and paper, put into a sealed envelope, sent to the teacher, who would slip it into their Valentine boxes so the students wouldn't know anything about it until they were going through their Valentine boxes. Isn't that wonderful?

Happy Birthday Chris and Huckleberry

My man is 36 and my boy is 9. May your 37th and 10th years be full of happiness, growth, and love.

Through Thumbelina's Eyes-The Shadows and Light of Imbolc

Lina took a long walk with her digital camera yesterday afternoon.






This is her view from the curve of the dirt and gravel road.









She thought the sight of ChiChi walking through the shadows thrown by the porch rails was really interesting, and loved the light playing on Holly Mittens' fur coat.

Reflections on 15 Years of Marriage

Today is our anniversary. We were talking last night about what all has changed in the 15 years since January 27, 1994. What if we could have looked into the future and had seen our selves at this very moment in time?

Firstly, we would have been amazed that we had these two great children and it would blow our minds to see them. 15 years ago, we weren't sure we even wanted children, and never could have imagined having two other people living with us! A dog, yes, but an 11 year old girl and a boy who will be 9 in a week? No way.

We would have liked how cute our home was, but would have run screaming had we known we would live in rural Alabama. That was so not in our game plan.

If we could have seen that Chris was a Respiratory Therapist who intubated people and saved lives on a regular basis, we would not have given that vision any credence whatsoever.

We would be happy that we were still involved in music, and I would be shocked to know that I played the harp, as that had never even crossed my mind at the time.

It would surprise me that I considered myself to be a pagan, since I didn't even know what that was in 1994. We would be quite curious about the fact that Chris was reading the Tao Te Ching and that I was reading a book with the word "witchery" in the title.

My brother was 16 when Chris and I married, and had only recently told me he was gay (to which I said "duh"). My parents were only 40 years old, and Chris' dad was still alive.

We would not be surprised that we still had so much fun together, but we would be very disappointed that we didn't have any more time alone together than we do. Chris would be freaked out by all his gray hair, and I would wonder about all the lines on my face.

All in all, we decided that if we were exactly what we expected we'd be, it would have been a disappointment, as that would mean we hadn't grown as individuals or in our partnership.

Bacchanalia

Lina, Huck and their loot


















Lina got me this metal replica of the Leaky Cauldron sign. Isn't it great?

December 24, 2008

Today is my first day off since November 17th and I am reveling. I'm hanging at home, the lights on the tree are twinkling, there is Christmas music playing (currently Nat King Cole) and I am about to make some candy. Lina is making reindeer costumes for her stuffed animals, Huck is shooting things with his Nerf Gun and making the appropriate death and pain sounds, and Chris is snoozing on the couch with the dog curled up against him.

Have a Jolly Holiday. Blessed Be.

I'm saying "Uncle" and no one is listening

I'm begging for mercy. So far, my contract, substitute Coder job has me working every single business day since Nov. 17. Then I come home, take care of kids and pour candles. I have 300 or so to deliver by tomorrow. I'm thrilled to have a job, thrilled to get the candle money as well, but not at all thrilled to come home after a 10 hour day and pour candles for another 3 or so hours and all day long on weekends.

Today, to save my sanity, I watched my favorite part of White Christmas while my first batch of wax was heating. Do enjoy "Mandy". Would that I had legs like Vera Ellen.

And, does anyone else notice that Bing Crosby is the only heterosexual male on the stage? Tee hee.