David's in a better mood over all. Though his job is just one kick
in the balls after another. * sighs * I am so sad for him. I wish he
could get a GOOD job, that pays well, that's close to where we live, and
that doesn't suck the utter soul out of that poor guy.
Holly's doing better. Back to begging, so that's always a sign she's
going back to normal. Eating better too. And actually has energy
again. Don't know if I wrote about it or not (and I'm wayyyy too lazy
to go back and look), but she was seriously ill starting last Friday and
going through Tuesday, when David finally took her to the vet. Down
5.5 pounds in a week, super watery poohs (lovely, I know), not eating
(which is soooo out of character for our I-believe-I'm-always-starving
dog), painful and swollen abdomen, and then the grand finale --
vomiting blood at the vet's office. Almost a thousand dollars
later....and we have no clue what was wrong with her. * shakes
her head * All the tests came back either negative or normal, so we
have no clue what the hell turned her gastro-intestinal system haywire.
But she's on the mend, and that's all we care about.
Tomorrow is the last Saturday I have to work at Starbucks. I spun a
lovely lil lie about me taking on a tutoring job on Saturdays and that
being why I couldn't work. Honestly, I felt myself slowly going insane.
I am taking Saturdays as a mental health day....a day 100% to myself.
I need it, and sadly I had forgotten that, and it took the crazy,
insane hours of Starbucks to remind me of that.
Stephanie just text me to see if I could cover her 5 hour shift at
Starbucks next Saturday. Part of me was bummed that I was having to
turn her down, as I really like her. But the other part of me was doing
a happy dance that I will be able to enjoy that first free Saturday
since January 18th.
I love the fact that David is on the same wave-length when it comes to watching The Colony and now The Walking Dead.
While we don't necessarily believe that the world is going to end via
zombie apocalypse, we also have seen how poorly people are prepared for
just standard, national disasters. So we're looking into some simple,
low-key prepping to ensure we have a fighting chance should something
terrible like that happen. But if we were ever to win the lottery, or
come into a large sum of money, we have the plans discussed about an
awesome, easily defend-able home.
The self-defense classes are tied into this also. I don't want to be
a victim again in any shape, form, or function. This is why I'm pretty
keen on Filipino Kali as a fighting style. It's a blade-based
fighting style, whereas most MMA is fist-based. Kali has fighting
stances (not sure if that's the correct word) that based off of using an
edged weapon of some sort. And this really appeals to me as I carry
one of David's military knives when I walk Holly, but honestly, have
very little idea on how to actually fight with it.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
R.A.D. Class finale
Not the greatest photo, and certainly not the greatest photo of myself, but a totally awesome photo all the same.
I was hot and sweaty from the three sparring scenarios we did. Man, those guys really pushed us and made us truly fight to get away from them. But at the same time, in the real world, the aggressor isn't going to take a half-hearted punch to the face and call it a day.
I'm a little sore and stiff today and a whole lot of exhausted. But proud of myself. I went 100% last night and, while I kept an eye on my knees (they aren't the greatest and like to act up at times), they chose to behave last night and let me go all out. Woohoo!
I'm really hoping to do their Advanced R.A.D. in June and their Weapons Defense later on in the summer.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Ostara Altar
Blessed Ostara (the Spring Equinox)! The last day of winter and the beginning of spring, when night and day are equal. From here on out, the days will grow longer and warmer until the Summer Solstice (the longest day of the year).
The candle I have burning is the Ostara Candle from Sage Goddess. It's beautiful to look at, but she didn't pack it all that great (just in a padded envelope), so it's a little beat up and squished in places. And then, while it was burning, it smelled like Hooters (the eating place, not actual boobs)....or maybe it was Long John Silvers. Fried food is what it smelled like. *shakes her head* Sad, because it really was a pretty candle to look at. I blew out shortly after I took this photo because I just couldn't stand the smell. I certainly will not be purchasing any more of her sabbat candles if this is what they are going to smell like. Not to mention the $31 price tag on it too. Just not worth it. I'll look into other vendors instead.
Maybe it's just the smell of beeswax? I don't know. This is the first beeswax candle I've had. I'll stick with soy from here on out though.
In celebration of Ostara, Holly and I took a nice long walk through the woods today and reveled in the beauty of spring.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Full Storm Moon Altar
A full length shot of my total altar space. Please ignore the messes off to the sides. *chuckles* I'm such a packrat and a creative spirit.
Full Storm Moon is all about looking at your financial goals; creating balance in your life; and luck and money spells. I combined the first and the last focuses and did magick to help me towards my goal of seeing the polar bears at Churchill, Manitoba. It's my current biggest financial goal. I want $10,000 set aside just for this and that's what I'm working towards. Sekhmet isn't going to just hand me that money on a silver platter. She'll help me find opportunities to make that money, but the hard work is up to me.
Ostara is coming up soon (March 20th) and the spring cleaning bug has already bit me. I've clean up the ritual space to the right in the photo and tossed a lot of stuff I don't need/use any more. I've also cleaned parts of my bathroom (slowly doing a DEEP clean of that area), plus cleaned out my bookshelf in my little hallway. Still have a ton more to go -- baby steps, but I'm getting there.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
New Neighbors...and Thoughts on Women
So apparently we're getting new neighbors. This is the apartment we
originally wanted to move into so that the apartment complex could fix
everything in our current apartment, so I will admit, at first, I was a
bit pissed at these people for taking the apartment we wanted. But I
decided to get over that AND to take it a step further. I introduced
myself.
Now, for anyone who knows me, will understand what a huge leap that is for me. I am NOT a social creature. I do NOT do well with strangers. But what the hey, the self-defense class is rubbing off on me. Not only do I have the confidence to approach the mother and child on neutral ground (the parking lot), but R.A.D. encourages you to befriend your neighbors so that you can look out for each other down the road. So I figured here was a great opportunity to try out this new theory I'd learned in class.
But it amazes me how much the woman (don't remember her name...I'm terrible with names) shared with me right off the bat. Now granted, I doubt she would have been so forthcoming if I were a male (or at least, I hope to GOD she wouldn't be). Seriously, she pretty much shared her life story with me. I know she's a bilingual middleschool teacher in south Dallas, but is originally from Houston. This is where she still owns a home, where her daughter that's attending the University of Houston is staying, who allowed her first husband to move into, even though the mother told her daughter not to. The first husband, she met while teaching in Guatemala. The woman is just 6 years away from retiring. And I can tell you what apartment complex they lived in prior to moving to this apartment complex. I can tell you that her mother is barely 5 feet tall and had a dog similar to Holly (our rottie/lab mix), but her dog was golden in color. This may not seem like much, but I learned all of this in less than 10 minutes from my initial, "Hello, my name is K----- and I'm your neighbor".
But I've noticed that women have a serious tendency to do this...to over-share. This woman barely knows me and yet, I know so much about her now. All I need to learn is what the husband does for a living and what his hours are and I would know the perfect time to break into their apartment and steal their crap...because she made it a point to tell me she's a traditional school teacher, so I know what hours that entails...and then went on to tell me WHERE she works and that it's a hour drive from the apartment. That gives me a perfect window of opportunity and she doesn't even know me or realizes how the information she spewed at me can be easily used against her and her family. I need to recommend she attend some R.A.D. training asap.
I do intend to nurture this as a potential friendship and if it goes well, in the summer (when I know she'll be off of school), I might suggest taking her to some R.A.D. classes. And if I can get her to go, then I know when her daughter is old enough, mom will take her daughter to these classes too.
While, ultimately, I would love to live in a world in which women wouldn't have to worry about these types of things.....right now I'll settle for women who can identify and assess the risks and kick ass should the need arise.
Now, for anyone who knows me, will understand what a huge leap that is for me. I am NOT a social creature. I do NOT do well with strangers. But what the hey, the self-defense class is rubbing off on me. Not only do I have the confidence to approach the mother and child on neutral ground (the parking lot), but R.A.D. encourages you to befriend your neighbors so that you can look out for each other down the road. So I figured here was a great opportunity to try out this new theory I'd learned in class.
But it amazes me how much the woman (don't remember her name...I'm terrible with names) shared with me right off the bat. Now granted, I doubt she would have been so forthcoming if I were a male (or at least, I hope to GOD she wouldn't be). Seriously, she pretty much shared her life story with me. I know she's a bilingual middleschool teacher in south Dallas, but is originally from Houston. This is where she still owns a home, where her daughter that's attending the University of Houston is staying, who allowed her first husband to move into, even though the mother told her daughter not to. The first husband, she met while teaching in Guatemala. The woman is just 6 years away from retiring. And I can tell you what apartment complex they lived in prior to moving to this apartment complex. I can tell you that her mother is barely 5 feet tall and had a dog similar to Holly (our rottie/lab mix), but her dog was golden in color. This may not seem like much, but I learned all of this in less than 10 minutes from my initial, "Hello, my name is K----- and I'm your neighbor".
But I've noticed that women have a serious tendency to do this...to over-share. This woman barely knows me and yet, I know so much about her now. All I need to learn is what the husband does for a living and what his hours are and I would know the perfect time to break into their apartment and steal their crap...because she made it a point to tell me she's a traditional school teacher, so I know what hours that entails...and then went on to tell me WHERE she works and that it's a hour drive from the apartment. That gives me a perfect window of opportunity and she doesn't even know me or realizes how the information she spewed at me can be easily used against her and her family. I need to recommend she attend some R.A.D. training asap.
I do intend to nurture this as a potential friendship and if it goes well, in the summer (when I know she'll be off of school), I might suggest taking her to some R.A.D. classes. And if I can get her to go, then I know when her daughter is old enough, mom will take her daughter to these classes too.
While, ultimately, I would love to live in a world in which women wouldn't have to worry about these types of things.....right now I'll settle for women who can identify and assess the risks and kick ass should the need arise.
Monday, March 10, 2014
March 10th, 2014 Photo
Goal #67 in my list of 101 Goals to be completed in 1001 Days, is to photograph myself on the 10th of each month.
Why the 10th? Well, my birthday falls on the 10th in November, and I do try to make an effort to get a photo of myself around my birthday each year. I saw where other people had done monthly photos of themselves and decided why not? I've done the 365 Photo Challenge before and that is INTENSE to say the least. But one photo of myself a month? I got this.
Why the 10th? Well, my birthday falls on the 10th in November, and I do try to make an effort to get a photo of myself around my birthday each year. I saw where other people had done monthly photos of themselves and decided why not? I've done the 365 Photo Challenge before and that is INTENSE to say the least. But one photo of myself a month? I got this.
So without further ado, here is my selfie for this month:
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Rape Aggression Defense Class
Last night was the first of four classes in the R.A.D.
(Rape Aggression Defense) class I'm taking through the local-ish police
department. My actual city doesn't offer it, but the college town 15
miles over does. So that's where I'll be spending the next Wednesday
evenings of March from 6 pm to 10 pm.
I was a little hesitant as there are male officers/instructors. But I've promised myself to make the most of these classes. And that even if something makes me a little wary, I want to work through it. So yeah, I wasn't keen on the idea of practicing my blocks and parries with one of the male instructors, but let's be honest here. I'm 6 feet tall and fairly intimidating as it is. The likelihood of a woman attacking me is pretty much zilch, so in reality, I need to practice against the people who would be most likely to attack me. In other words, MEN.
And it was awesome. Getting to practice the glare, the verbal commands of Stay Away or No, and to block and parry strikes (slow ones, with padding, so no real danger there), was so much fun. And then we moved on to strikes. Next week we start kicks, knees, etc.
And R.A.D. is an international program. Once I complete 3 classes (the fourth class is just simulation/sparring), I get my lifetime pass. With that, I can attend any R.A.D. class for free.
In June, the local PD is offering Advanced R.A.D., Weapons Defense, and Keychain Baton classes. I'm quite interested in the first two. Ify on the Keychain class. I carry a knife with me, so I'd rather get training in how to use that instead of a 6 inch metal baton that attaches to my keys. But one of the local Krav Maga places offers weapon and street-fighting classes, so I can sign up for those instead.
All in all, a good class thus far. I'm a little sore today as I'm not used to moving in those ways, but I'll be stretching and practicing for next week for sure.
I was a little hesitant as there are male officers/instructors. But I've promised myself to make the most of these classes. And that even if something makes me a little wary, I want to work through it. So yeah, I wasn't keen on the idea of practicing my blocks and parries with one of the male instructors, but let's be honest here. I'm 6 feet tall and fairly intimidating as it is. The likelihood of a woman attacking me is pretty much zilch, so in reality, I need to practice against the people who would be most likely to attack me. In other words, MEN.
And it was awesome. Getting to practice the glare, the verbal commands of Stay Away or No, and to block and parry strikes (slow ones, with padding, so no real danger there), was so much fun. And then we moved on to strikes. Next week we start kicks, knees, etc.
And R.A.D. is an international program. Once I complete 3 classes (the fourth class is just simulation/sparring), I get my lifetime pass. With that, I can attend any R.A.D. class for free.
In June, the local PD is offering Advanced R.A.D., Weapons Defense, and Keychain Baton classes. I'm quite interested in the first two. Ify on the Keychain class. I carry a knife with me, so I'd rather get training in how to use that instead of a 6 inch metal baton that attaches to my keys. But one of the local Krav Maga places offers weapon and street-fighting classes, so I can sign up for those instead.
All in all, a good class thus far. I'm a little sore today as I'm not used to moving in those ways, but I'll be stretching and practicing for next week for sure.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Stolen Survey
Do you take any medications to sleep? yes
Do you own any coloring books and crayons? yes to coloring books, no to crayons. i don't like the feel of the wax or the way they smell.
Have you ever done Wreck This Journal? no. not my style of journaling / art journaling.
Do you ever go on Etsy? quite often
What's your favorite brand of chocolate? anything dark
How about lollipops? eh, i'm not a huge fan of lollipops, but dum-dums are ok
Have you ever had a rash from poison ivy? nope
Have you ever gone camping? a lot! kind of miss it actually
Do you like mustaches? meh
How about beards? some people look very good with them, but i don't really care for them.
Put your music player on shuffle. Skip 5 songs. What does it land on? Counting Stars by OneRepublic
Do you own anything animal print? only animal skins. but those are sacred and for shamanic work.
What is the shortest relationship you've ever been in? a one night stand that i had hoped would develop into something more. never did. we just stayed friends and don't speak of that night. *laughs* we were both super drunk, so i don't hold it again him.
What's the first letter of your last name? B for my married name; W for my maiden.
What's the last letter of your first name? E for my married; H for my maiden
Do you have any strange nicknames/code names? not strange to me...
What did/are you planning on majoring in college/university? Cultural Anthropology; should have been zoology/wildlife biology though...maybe photography too
Do you have any pets? lavender corn snake (named Leviathan) who's my baby gurl; and my step-dog, Holly (she's my husband's dog), named Holly
Would you like any more? I would love 2 more snakes, but hubby isn't sold on that idea just yet. *laughs* And there's no way we can get another dog while we have Holly; she's been the princess for far too long.
Do you want children? nope. i have more than enough via my after school program. and my brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first in august, so i'm set.
Why or why not? I've done child care in one form or another since 1996. I've helped raise more children than most people. So I know exactly what I'm not getting myself in. That, and looking at the genetics my husband and I could pass on, we're doing the world a great service NOT breeding.
What was your best subject in school? english and biology
And worse? math
Ever been suspended? I was suspended once in college for poor grades.
Ever been expelled? No
How many schools have you been to? 7
Have you/are you going to therapy? have in the past; not currently
What bones have you broken, if any? toes and fingers
If you were an olympian, which team would you be representing? Canada most likely. If nothing else, typically their uniforms are as ugly as the US's.
What's your favorite country besides your own? Canada
Have you seen the movie Coraline? yes, wonderfully creepy movie.
Have you read the book of the same name? no. didn't realize it was a book.
Is Nicholas Sparks overrated? i haven't read any of his books nor watched any of his movies, so i don't really have an opinion. he's just not my style.
Name the members of your favorite band? eh, don't really have a favorite band.
Do you have any fake plants in your house/office? a few. they're harder to kill
Do you like Yankee candles? if it's the right scent sure. but they have some seriously nasty smelling candles so you gotta be careful.
What's your favorite car company/brand? that i've owned? honda. that i dream about owning? jaguar
Do you ever listen to Kid Rock? yes. hubby is a fan.
Do you carry a purse or bag with you everywhere? only to my after school program. or on long trips.
Ever been to Minnesota? not yet
Canada? many times. i have family there.
Argentina? no
Rhode Island? no
Arkansas? yep. i used to participate in the L.A.R.P. (Live Action Role Playing) that had a chapter there.
What's your favorite Sharpie color? lavender or light blue (not turquoise tho)
Do you own any coloring books and crayons? yes to coloring books, no to crayons. i don't like the feel of the wax or the way they smell.
Have you ever done Wreck This Journal? no. not my style of journaling / art journaling.
Do you ever go on Etsy? quite often
What's your favorite brand of chocolate? anything dark
How about lollipops? eh, i'm not a huge fan of lollipops, but dum-dums are ok
Have you ever had a rash from poison ivy? nope
Have you ever gone camping? a lot! kind of miss it actually
Do you like mustaches? meh
How about beards? some people look very good with them, but i don't really care for them.
Put your music player on shuffle. Skip 5 songs. What does it land on? Counting Stars by OneRepublic
Do you own anything animal print? only animal skins. but those are sacred and for shamanic work.
What is the shortest relationship you've ever been in? a one night stand that i had hoped would develop into something more. never did. we just stayed friends and don't speak of that night. *laughs* we were both super drunk, so i don't hold it again him.
What's the first letter of your last name? B for my married name; W for my maiden.
What's the last letter of your first name? E for my married; H for my maiden
Do you have any strange nicknames/code names? not strange to me...
What did/are you planning on majoring in college/university? Cultural Anthropology; should have been zoology/wildlife biology though...maybe photography too
Do you have any pets? lavender corn snake (named Leviathan) who's my baby gurl; and my step-dog, Holly (she's my husband's dog), named Holly
Would you like any more? I would love 2 more snakes, but hubby isn't sold on that idea just yet. *laughs* And there's no way we can get another dog while we have Holly; she's been the princess for far too long.
Do you want children? nope. i have more than enough via my after school program. and my brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first in august, so i'm set.
Why or why not? I've done child care in one form or another since 1996. I've helped raise more children than most people. So I know exactly what I'm not getting myself in. That, and looking at the genetics my husband and I could pass on, we're doing the world a great service NOT breeding.
What was your best subject in school? english and biology
And worse? math
Ever been suspended? I was suspended once in college for poor grades.
Ever been expelled? No
How many schools have you been to? 7
Have you/are you going to therapy? have in the past; not currently
What bones have you broken, if any? toes and fingers
If you were an olympian, which team would you be representing? Canada most likely. If nothing else, typically their uniforms are as ugly as the US's.
What's your favorite country besides your own? Canada
Have you seen the movie Coraline? yes, wonderfully creepy movie.
Have you read the book of the same name? no. didn't realize it was a book.
Is Nicholas Sparks overrated? i haven't read any of his books nor watched any of his movies, so i don't really have an opinion. he's just not my style.
Name the members of your favorite band? eh, don't really have a favorite band.
Do you have any fake plants in your house/office? a few. they're harder to kill
Do you like Yankee candles? if it's the right scent sure. but they have some seriously nasty smelling candles so you gotta be careful.
What's your favorite car company/brand? that i've owned? honda. that i dream about owning? jaguar
Do you ever listen to Kid Rock? yes. hubby is a fan.
Do you carry a purse or bag with you everywhere? only to my after school program. or on long trips.
Ever been to Minnesota? not yet
Canada? many times. i have family there.
Argentina? no
Rhode Island? no
Arkansas? yep. i used to participate in the L.A.R.P. (Live Action Role Playing) that had a chapter there.
What's your favorite Sharpie color? lavender or light blue (not turquoise tho)
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Bipolar Much, Texas Weather?
Almost 90 degrees yesterday.
Today?
25 with massive sleet, ice, and slush.
Insane weather here in Texas.
Today?
25 with massive sleet, ice, and slush.
Insane weather here in Texas.
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