Veni, Vidi, Vici

Final day of January’s #cy365 AND the last day of this round of the National Journal Writing Month Challenge (NaJoWriMo).

So, today’s photo:



Not the greatest, but Josey was somewhat cuddling in that moment, so it’s more about the emotion than photography quality here.

And it’s the final day of the NaJoWritMo. My goal for this month was to write every day (which I have) and to hit the 15,000 word mark, and not counting this entry, I’m already 900 words OVER that mark. Honestly, I have to say that this has been the easiest and most enjoyable NaJoWritMo round to date.

Next month is the Month of Letters challenge. I’ve already got a few lined up for that, so I’m excited.

And today I actually got most of my Imbolc altar laid out. I’m still not 100% enthused about Imbolc, but I figure that’s because I don’t know a whole lot about this particular Sabbat. It’s one of those Sabbats that doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. It’s supposed to be the BEGINNING of the re-awakening of Spring…and yet here in Texas? We really haven’t even had Winter…and we’ve already had a number of days at 70+ degree weather. So how does that really jive with being the first START of Spring?

Looking into more, I see that it’s a day to celebrate creativity. Dianic Wiccans see this as a special day for initiations. Maybe I should blend the two ideas here and use it as a day to bless my working Grimoire. I kind of like that idea. And I plan to do the blessing as well, that I wrote about back on January 25th.

Ok, I’m tired so I’m officially calling this.
Grand total of words written this month = 16,140.

Fuck the Fae

Today’s #cy365 photo prompt is “Bare Trees”:



I ADORE the very first sliver of the new moon. Full Moons are lovely, but that first smallest hint of silver on the horizon…that is what calls to my heart and soul.

And here’s the promised photo of the Rooster mural we (the students and I) created for the Chinese New Year:


I’m really pleased with how well it turned out and we’ve received a number of compliments on it.
::sighs:: I’m all out of words today it seems.

I’m so exhausted. I was up way late last night due to fae/spirit activity in my room. Those assholes thought I was kidding about banishing their punk asses and locking them out of my home if they kept that shit up. So they did….and I’m making War Water as we speak. Fucking little assholes.

And then I was up way too damn early because the pest control guys showed up at 7:45 am. Awesome guys and a hoot to hang out with….but holy shit that was way too damn early.

I’m just feeling really run down. Almost beginning stages of depression.

I wanted to go outside today at work. The weather was gorgeous. But too many students elected to stay inside and I couldn’t leave Amber out of ratio. ::sighs:: Well it’s supposed to be even more beautiful tomorrow, so hopefully I can get some good outside time.

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Christianity Over Dose

Today’s #cy365 photo challenge prompt is “Contrast”. I had zero idea of how I was going to accomplish this…until I got started working on my two assignments due. I ended up writing 800 words about the Vatican Library for my Financial & Human Resources Management in Information Agencies class WHILE watching the movie “Hostage to the Devil”, and trust me, the humor there was not lost on me. Here I am, a self-proclaimed, proud Pagan (having been Pagan since 1996)….and here I was, up to my eyeballs in Catholicism. ::laughs::

So, my artistic interpretation of “Contrast” is a photo of me with Malachi Martin’s movie in the background…..a Witch and a Priest:



So yeah, most of my day revolved around the Vatican and Catholicism. I spent most of the day researching the Digital Library project. And I must say…I thought it was a great idea in the beginning….now? Now, I am absolutely in LOVE with it! Now, more than ever, I want to land an internship in that program. They have 150 of the top specialists in these fields working there. The electronic program they are using to digitize their collection (of over 40 MILLION pages) was originally developed by NASA. How fucking cool is that?!?!

Yeah, I think I over-dosed on Christianity today. Man, I am ITCHING for a ritual. ::chuckles:: Luckily for me, my spirit helpers aren’t the jealous types. The Harpies were quite amused with how I “entertained” myself today – they sat back and said “If THAT’S the path you wanna take……” and then just smirk at me. I am free to make my own choices, but I am responsible for those choices.

Actually, the beginning of the Christianity over-dose began yesterday. We watched the remake of the movie Ben-Hur – pretty good. I vaguely remember watching the original when I was a child. And now today, we are watching Inferno – the third in the Da Vinci Code series. So yeah, I’ve had more Christianity in the past two days than I generally get in a year. ::laughs::

Ug, my creativity is gone. I think I use it and all my words up doing my two assignments – the big 800 word one on the Vatican Library (along with a 150 word response to a classmate’s post) and a shorter discussion question for my other class (along with a 100 word response to a classmate’s post). That’s a lot of words in such a short amount of time. My brain is utterly fried.

I did manage to take Josey for a walk. She did really well. There was even a point when two people drove up to the house we were across the street from, and while she was SUPER interested in them (and her tail was wagging a thousand miles a minute) she did at least remain in the sit the entire time. Which is HUGE for this dog because there is nothing she loves more than PEOPLE. She would race up to anyone and everyone and knock them down and love them to death if I would allow her.

Planning for February

Today’s #cy365 photo prompt is “Fortune”. Here is an assortment of coins I have:



Next month starts up the Month of Letters challenge (aka LetterMo). I’ve done this 2 years now? Three maybe? I think? Not sure to be honest. ::shrugs:: Doesn’t really matter. What matters is the challenge – a total of 24 letters (because they don’t count Sundays or federal holidays in which the post office is closed). Me, being the overachiever that I can be at times….I always shoot for 28 pieces of mail. Last year, I sent out way more than just 28 because it was a leap year, and I wanted to send out a number of postcards with that postal cancellation date. ::smiles::

So yeah, I’m beginning to set up my bastardized BuJo/Catch-All Journal for next month – I will be starting a new composition notebook for that. I’m also working on a beginning list of people to send letters to as well.

I should be working on my two assignments, but I honestly just don’t want to. I hate that about my personality. It’s like pulling teeth to do things I am not interested in, even if I know I need to. ::chuckles:: Like eating better, exercising, and all around taking better care of myself. I know I need to do it. I know HOW to do it. But damn it, some days ya just want some fucking Taco Bell and some Starbucks. ::chuckles:: And I can’t even blame that on my MoonTime. That’s how I feel ALL THE FUCKING TIME.

I dunno. January has been really hit and miss on a number of items I want to achieve. I can make a thousand and one excuses and give twice as many REASONS why I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to. But in the end, it just boils down to me. I didn’t do it. I didn’t achieve it. And really, I only have myself to blame.

So, I’m taking the last few days of January to do what I can towards accomplishing said goals (aka TAKING CARE OF MYSELF) to set the stage for further success in February.

Homework front:
I have read all the articles AND taken proper notes required for my two assignments due tomorrow night by midnight. So really, I just need to buckle down and write them and submit them.
I need to begin work on the Case Study (which is a stupid GROUP project) asap.
Plus I need to start on next week’s lessons.

Work front:
I need to do at least HALF of the projects we have down on paper for the students.
I need to sit down with Amber P. and talk about future lesson plans.
I need to write and submit as many of those as I possibly can.

Money front:
Seriously, stop spending ANY money on fucking Candy Crush. Like NO MONEY!!!!
Make a general budget for the month (like I kind of did with January).
Gather all W-2s and bank info together in ONE SECURE SPOT.
Begin pressuring David to do our taxes.

Food front:
Try out 2 – 4 new recipes this month.
Limit eating out to 1 or 2 days a week.
Drink more water!

Movement front:
10k steps during the week.
6k steps on the weekend.
Walk Josey 5 days a week.
Elliptical time 3 times a week.

Spiritual front:
Create one sigil a week.
Work in Grimoire 1x a week (minimum).
Daily affirmation ceremony daily.
Read one chapter in a spiritually focused book a week.

And I think that covers it for February. This is on top of the typical monthly goals (like $108 in savings a month, 8 postcards through Postcrossing sent out, daily photography, and other things I track for myself).

Just need to print this out and hang it up and GET TO IT!

Battle Fatigue

written Jan 27th

I forgot to take a photo of the big rooster mural the students and I colored today for the Chinese New Year.  I got it from here.  So this is a place holder for when I get on campus on Monday and can get a photo of it. 

Man it’s been a while since work had just utterly worn me out this badly.  I even ended up with a headache.  I had my daily coffee and plenty of water, but still it showed up.  Almost migraine level.  So weird.

All in all, it was a damn good day at work.  We got the mural done and it looks amazing.  We did the red prosperity envelopes and the students did awesome on those.  All in all, this was a week of wins.

Maybe that’s why I’m so utterly worn out?  Battle fatigue?  Because this week has been non-stop battles.  And now that I’ve won, I just need a break.  ::chuckles::  Hopefully the peace accord I’ve struck between me and my boss, Gail, will hold…at least to the end of the year.  Then I’ll have a new Zone Supervisor to contend with.  ::chuckles:: 

We finished up Season 3 of The Blacklist.  Very intriguing series.  But we always find ourselves at a bit of a loss when it comes to finding a new series to start up.  I’m still kind of mourning the loss of these characters (at least until the next season hits Netflix).  So instead, we rented The Accountant on Vudu.  A number of David’s coworkers highly recommended it.  I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t dealing with the aforementioned headache.  David really enjoyed it.

I dunno.  I’m feeling victorious but deflated.  I think I just need to rest and relax and enjoy my win for as long as the peace stands.  Like I told my staff, I hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.  I hope that the peace between me and Gail stands until the end of the year.  But given her track-record of saying one thing and doing another – of flat out denying she said what we all heard her say – I am bracing for her to turn on us once again.  It wouldn’t surprise me. 

So yes.  I really and truly hope I can take my boss at her word that I have the freedom to write up lesson plans for my campus.  That she trusts me to run my campus to the best of my abilities.  And I will operate on the belief in that until she shows me otherwise.  And it wouldn’t surprise me if she were to turn on me.

So yeah, spent most of today at work working on future lesson plans.  I had a blast researching bizarre and fun “holidays” to base my lesson plans off of.  Gotta have fun with them to keep the kids entertained as well. 

Thankful Thursday 04

Photo for today is of some amazing items I received in the mail:



The Shield Maiden scented oil is made by Sage Goddess and was gifted to me by Brandy. She received it as a free gift from Sage Goddess, but the aroma didn’t fit her personality. So she offered it to me. One whiff and the Harpies were chattering – they have laid claim to the oil. It’s interesting because they’ve actually been very quiet as of late, but holy hell, they started up a ruckus over that scented oil. Actually, reading the description of the perfume…I got down to the two gemstones Sage Goddess puts in the perfume oil and one of them is Sodalite, which is a stone I associate with the Harpies. Crazy how that stuff links up. Note to Self: Print out the write up about this scented oil and include it in the Grimoire.

The other two vials are from Mary. The clear one on the left is a bottle of tranquilo balsam – it is used in a Santeria spell to get someone to “chill” – very similar to the Hoodoo Sweetening Spell. Note to Self: Write down the above spell that Mary shared in case it is needed at a later time.

The vial on the right is a vial of New Age ink – Dragon’s Blood Ink. This should prove quite fun to play with in one of my fountain pens. Just have to decide which one.

I am thankful…
1. Chipping away at the reading for my two courses. I knew the management class would be helpful. And the preservation one is intriguing. So all of that to say, thus far, I am enjoying my two classes this semester.
2. Happy mail day today – gifts from Mary and Brandy (which were discussed above).
3. That when everything was said and done and the smoke clear and the debris settled, The Boss saw things my way and apologized for her horribleness. In theory, she claims she has my back and is giving me free reign on my campus’s lessons plans and I hope that this is what she practices as well.
4. Affirmation of the power of personal magick. Just reminds me how much I love this Path of mine.
5. My sleeping habits are so much better now. I’m not sure if it’s due to the thyroid medicine or not, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth on this. I will take it and I will run with it in bliss for as long as it lasts.
6. The continued support of my followers on Deviant Art. It is so very humbling to know that I have about 20 die-hard fans that I can always count on to share their appreciation of my photography. And for someone who hugs the shadows and likes her anonymity…that is impressive, and very heart-warming.
7. The massive turn out for the Women’s March. It is impressive and I hope it’s just the beginning of us working hard to protect our hard-earned rights and protections.
8. For my unwavering dedication to my students and that I honestly only want what is best for them. And my ability and willingness to fight tooth and nail for this.
9. That I have my own bedroom – I am especially grateful for this as I sit here writing this in the living room, listening to my husband snore loud enough to wake the dead.
10. GIRL SCOUT COOKIES! I haven’t had them in a few years now, but I’m thrilled to be snacking on some Thin Mints once more!

Respect & Voodoo

written: Jan 25th

Today’s photo is of the AMAZING Imbolc candle I purchased from Moon Goddess Magick Apothecary, along with the surprise gift of a Hag Stone and a piece of tumbled Quartz (as an apology for taking so long to get the candle to me):



Which is why I ordered it at the beginning of the month, because all of her stuff is made when you order it, so there can be a significant wait time. But the quality of the candles she makes? Soooo worth the wait and the price tag. And who doesn’t adore the jars the candle comes in? I mean, hello amazing witch jar for damn sure! Which, I say that, and currently have 3 or 4 of these jars that I haven’t used yet. ::laughs::

So shit went down at work today. The Boss, Gail, came in, guns fucking blazing. She even had the gall to threaten me and my staff’s jobs. Yeah, like THAT’S a great way to START a fucking conversation! ::rolls her eyes:: And she talked over us each time we tried to speak up. She’d ask us a question, but if she didn’t like the answer we were giving her, she’d cut us off. Seriously, grossly unprofessional.

But she did end up staying the entire day. And seeing for herself how well my campus DOES run with so little heavy-handed structure. And around 4:30 pm, when things had calmed down on my campus and a number of the students had left, I approached Gail and asked if we could talk. I told her that I needed the opportunity to explain a few things and ask for clarification on a number of points that even during her earlier ass-chewing she only muddied the waters on it.

And you know what? We sat and talked from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, like CIVILIZED human beings who RESPECTED each other. Like we were on the same TEAM or some crazy shit like that! ::laughs::
So yeah….we all go threatened with our jobs at 2:20 pm and Gail was practically screaming “YOU WILL RESPECT ME”. Which, in my mind, I kept thinking of this great clip from South Park:




But at 6:30 pm, Gail was apologizing to each of us for coming in with a major chip on her shoulder, judging us before even taking the time to see what was really going on, and condemning us without ever giving us the chance to explain, defend, or gain any sort of clarity of the matters we were getting chewed the fuck out over.

So yeah. I have been given full permission and SUPPORT to run my campus as I see fit. I don’t have to do their stupid ass lesson plans as long as I submit my own for my campus to her at least a week in advance (which is how it used to be).

And, she made it abundantly clear that she’s leaving at the end of this year. Thank god.

So yeah, apparently my fucking Voodoo magic is strong! ::laughs:: Interesting, as I did that Hoodoo Sweetening Spell a week ago yesterday. And you talk about a complete change in personality and tone and all of that with this damn boss.

So yeah, that spell is for damn sure going in my Grimoire.

Imbolc Inspiration

So this came across my FaceBook feed earlier today:



And I thought it would make for a beautiful ceremony. To light a candle and say this blessing for each and every person I care for, be they Sister or Brother. And then inspiration hit:

Wouldn’t this make for an AMAZING Imbolc/Candlemas ritual??? I mean, hello? CANDLES?!?!?! Let’s do this!

So I’m going to get little birthday candles for every individual that I intend to name in this ritual.
Side note: Might need to look into getting a fire extinguisher....just in case. ::chuckles::

Open

Today’s #cy365 photo prompt is “Open”. Being open to being a Witch:



I wish I could be completely out of the broom closet on this…I wish I could be completely open about my faith. I wish my faith was accepted as freely as Christianity in this nation. But given the current political climate, I do not see that happening any time soon. ::sighs::

My dreams have been very vivid as of late. I am not sure what has triggered that, but it is interesting. Speaking with angels and deities that normally I would avoid like the plague. Not that they are evil or anything. They are just not types that I would ever interact with. I normally avoid angels because they are too Christian and too humanoid for my tastes. And Kali-Ma? Just not a deity that ever peaked my interest. Which I’m still not overly sure how Kali ties in, because it was just the name I used. The idol was definitely not her in my dream. I really should get back into the habit of writing down my dreams.

The following is a post I made on Facebook today. I’m actually rather pleased with my thought process on this one and wanted to document it here in my blog:

I’ve seen this meme floating around and have really been thinking about it. How angry it made me and how best to voice my anger and dismay in a clear and concise way.



But the more I thought about it....the more I agree with it. Which is crazy, because I am so pro-CHOICE.
But I agree with this meme….just not in a way that the Pro-Lifers are going to like.

Yes, I should be able to make my choice BEFORE a child is conceived.
So why are Pro-Lifers trying to defund Planned Parenthood? They give out sexual FACTS and ways of planning families BEFORE abortion is even on the table. They give low-to-no cost contraceptives to aid people in having CONTROL over their family planning, if that’s what is needed. Note: birth control pills are used for a WIDE array of health issues, not just keeping a woman from conceiving. Educate yourself already!

So yeah, this meme doesn’t anger me anymore. If anything, we (meaning Pro-Choicers) should adopt it and use it. Because women SHOULD be allowed to make any and all choices regarding their bodies BEFORE they even have to consider abortion.

And, should they want/NEED (because sometimes, it IS a medical need) to abort the fetus they are carrying? That is their fucking right as well. Get your damn nose out of other people’s business!

Action

written: Jan 23rd

The #cy365 photo prompt for today is “Action”. This is a photo of the theme we are doing this week at the afterschool program – the theme is the Chinese New Year. Amber P’s (my sometimes annoying aide) daughter is fluent in Mandarin, so Amber volunteered to translate everyone’s name over into Mandarin – at 67 students PLUS her 4 coworkers and herself. So yeah, she translated and sketched out in pencil 72 names into Mandarin. So major hats off to her!



And the students had so much fun with it. I had students requesting to come in off the playground just so they could do their “Chinese” name – which, each time they said this, I made it a point to gently correct them. There is no “Chinese” language – there is Mandarin and Cantonese. And it was awesome to then hear the students pass this information along when their parents picked them up and commented about their name in “Chinese”.

So yeah, this is “Action” because I am STILL fighting the Boss over these fucking lesson plans. This is “Action” because the students had so much fun with it and really enjoyed themselves. If I had followed the shitty lesson plans they had given me, the students would have made a fucking paper plate apple and worm (for the state of Washington) and a paper Mr. Potato Head (for the state of Idaho). Yeah, which do you think they enjoyed more?

I’m also having Amber take each student’s photo with their name in Mandarin. We are putting these on our private Shutterfly website to share with the parents. I wish I could show those photos here, because you can see how proud the kids are of their tracing work. You can’t tell me they would be this happy making a stupid ass apple. Here, I even found a photo of said stupid ass apple craft:



So yeah, still fighting with the Boss. But I’m laying the ground work so I can argue my case to the Head Boss soon. The Boss (Gail) is supposed to come out to my campus Wednesday to go over the lesson plans – how much you wanna bet it ends up like last Wednesday, when she all this stuff up and then didn’t even fucking call me to let me know she wouldn’t be coming out? Whatever.

And honestly, Amber and I make a pretty good team when it comes to making lesson plans. We each have strengths that play to the other person’s strengths. And I think with our powers combined, we will have some awesome crafts and/or games for the students. If Gail would just let us do our own thing! ::sighs::

Windy & Sacred Tools

written: Jan 22

I don’t really even know why I bother listing the #cy365 photo challenge prompts when I don’t follow them 80% of the time. ::chuckles:: So from here on out (aka, for the rest of the year), I’ll only list the prompt if I actually followed it.

Today was WINDY! Like, holy shit, Dorothy, was that a flying monkey I just saw windy. Photo for today is our local little mockingbird who has returned, looking all windblown. ::chuckles:: I know, it’s not the greatest of pictures, but it was the best I could do from inside the house, through two panes of glass, on a gray, gray, GRAY day.



I finished up the assignments due by today (two introductions and a discussion question). Fairly easy stuff for the first week of class – so grateful! I’m sure it will just get more challenging from here on out.

I actually got one of my pages completely done for my Working Grimoire. Woohoo for me! I wrote up the Daily Affirmation page and it is done and in my Grimoire Binder. Now I just need to do the rest of the pages! HA!

I’m trying not to get too fancy with the pages. Even this one that I did, I drew out and erased and redrew the lines TWICE because it wasn’t quite right. I had to draw lines because the paper is unlined, but my writing needs a line or else it curves all over the damn place. ::chuckles:: With the Grimoire, I’m having to walk this fine line between Paralyzing Perfection (wanting everything to be perfect, and thus never doing a damn thing) but also making sure that I’m not just slapping some shit down and hoping for the best.

I really liked this quote from “The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire” by Skye Alexander:
“You’ll come to see that writing in your grimoire is a ritual in itself – you’re creating a sacred tool that contains the chronicle of the magick unfolding within you.” p. 27
You know, I had never thought of the Book of Shadows / Grimoire as a sacred tool. I mean, I had thought of it as being sacred. But a sacred tool? Akin to the athame, or wand, or deity representation? No, I hadn’t thought of it that way. But what an awesome way to think of it. This line of thought reasons that while it is sacred and should be treated as such, it is also a TOOL and as such, should be USED! And I really like that thought.

As of right now, I typically write down my impressions and thoughts and the How-to of a ritual/spell right after I’ve completed it. I write it on my white board, because it just flows so smoothly and I can erase so very easily. It keeps up with my thoughts. Plus, I like the way my handwriting looks on the white board. No matter how fast I have to scribble to keep up, it’s still legible and decent looking. After that, then I can transfer it over to paper, where I can flesh it out a bit more. The white board is to catch the bare bones of everything…writing it on paper or typing it up on my computer allows for more reflection and thought and detail. Once that step is complete, then I transfer it, handwritten, into my Grimoire itself.

And, thus far? It’s going pretty well.

Storms, Nagas, & Kali

Today’s #cy365 photo challenge is “Winter Berries”. Damn it, another one that I had every intention in doing, but then Josey was too damn adorable staring out the window at the nasty storm that blew through for a whopping 20 minutes:



So another prompt that I plan to come back to at some point and do.

My version of the Sweetening Spell has been done. I rather love the way the little spell bottle looks. I won’t be sharing photos of it or any other information on it. I have written up notes about it that I will add into my Grimoire.

Seeing as how the Boss was slightly nicer to me on Friday when she stopped by, but ended up latching onto one of my aides…it is looking like I may need to do the spell over, and add my aides’ names into it as well to give them a measure of protection against her as well. Hell, I am thinking I may need to do some full blown protection spells for my campus.

And while I’m thinking about it, I may need to do the cotton swab spell again, in hopes that Gail will actually HEAR our words. Because she sure as shit isn’t listening to any of us at the moment.

I had a crazy dream last night. I had a larger than life statue of a Tibetan Naga Kanya, much like the statue in this photo:


Except mine was all black. And I called her Kali-Ma. Which is weird, because I have never worked with Kali. I’ve never even had a desire to work with Kali to be honest. ::shrugs:: But this dream? God, it felt so real. And the statue was alive. I distinctly remember her eyes moving.

A naga? I can understand that. The Serpent plays a very big role in my spirituality and personal mythos. But Kali? I mean, she’s another dark mother, much akin to Sekhmet. But she’s a goddess I have zero interest in. I am not even interested in her mythos. ::shrugs::

Well, my dreams are nothing, if not interesting.
But seriously? I kind of want that Tibetan Naga Kanya statue. It would be a good representation of Medusa. ::grins::

Validated & Cookies

written: Jan 20th

Today’s #cy365 photo challenge is My Neighborhood…..which I did have intentions of doing….but the day just go away from me. Maybe I’ll do it another day? Who knows…. ::chuckles::

So instead, I went with a photo of my Girl Scout Cookie Stash that I got today:



So, yeah. Two boxes of Thinmints (one for me and one to share), a box of Tagalongs (hub’s), and a box of their new S’mores cookies. Honestly, I had such high hopes for the S’mores, but they are just meh. Not bad, but definitely not great…and seeing as how they’re a dollar more than the other cookies? Yeah, won’t be getting them again.

Carli and Alison were both out today due to illnesses, so we got a sub. And honestly, I was more stand-off-ish than usual, just because, I didn’t know if this sub was a spy for the Boss.

Turns out, she wasn’t. And she had a LOT of insight into the Boss.

Apparently, I am NOT being singled out for punishment here. Almost ALL of the other campuses are dealing with the same bullshit that we are getting. Which, while it’s nice to know it isn’t just me, it does make the situation worse, because this is just how the Boss is apparently. ::grumbles::

This sub was awesome. Love, love, LOVE Vallery. She has worked our after school program both as an aide and as a supervisor…but she was lucky and was in the East Zone under Jesse. ::sighs:: Jesse is awesome. I worked with him one summer (summer camp) and loved working with him. When I heard he’d landed one of the zone leader positions I was so hopeful he would be on the West….but, alas, I got saddled with Gail instead. But apparently a LOT of the other campus leaders are super fed up with Gail and are lodging complaints with Kelly (the boss above Gail, who used to be my direct boss).

So, all of that to say, it was amazing to be completely validated by Vallery. Our campus isn’t the only one that hates Gail. And we aren’t the only ones sitting here scratching our heads as she constantly changes the rules of game on us, and then gets PISSED off at us for not magically knowing the new rules. Geez, fuck that bitch.

But yeah. All of this to say, Girl Scout Cookies saved the week. I haven’t bought Girl Scout Cookies in ages, so when one of my students inquired if I liked Girl Scout Cookies…..I POUNCED. Hell yeahs, I want some Girl Scout Cookies!

So, thank goodness for Girl Scout Cookies. It was the only redeeming quality of the entire damn week.

Thankful Thursday 03

Today’s #cy365 photo prompt is “Chilly”…but given that our high today is 70 degrees F, chilly doesn’t really fit. So I went with this photo instead:



I am thankful….
1. My 2016 “MySocialBook” arrived today (it’s a company that prints out your FaceBook as an actual BOOK). And it is stellar quality as always. But, if you are planning to do this, sign up for their mailing-list and pay attention to their sales, as these books can get pricy, depending on how much you post and the various options you choose. Like I have my hardback, and that does jump the price up a bit.
2. My copy of “The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire” by Sky Alexander arrived yesterday. I thumbed through it and read a few pages last night and while I’m not sure it’s one of those books that will stay in my personal library forever, I do have a good feeling about it.
3. My amazing, awesome, and loyal aides at work. I do my best to make this job a great one and they are doing the same for me, our students, and each other. And sometimes, that makes all the difference in the world between a good day and a bad day.
4. My 3rd semester of grad school started on Tuesday. And while I have not had a chance to really dive into the details about the various assignments just yet, what I have seen appears to be a good, useful, practical semester that won’t kill me. ::laughs::
5. All the amazing feedback I get on my photos when I post them to my Deviant Art account. Makes me wonder why I waited so long to set my desktop computer back up once we moved! ::laughs:: Also makes me want to go back to the zoos asap!
6. Short work week (I had Monday and Tuesday off), even if that means the students still work very hard to cram a week’s worth of craziness into just three days. ::laughs::
7. The amazingness of the internet, where I can find such a wide array of information for all my needs, plus keep in contact with family around the world, AND make friends that share comment interests that I never would have met any other way.
8. That our city offers curbside recycling. I love knowing that we are working to curb our trash and are making efforts to recycle the items we do use. And since it’s curbside, it makes it worlds easier for us to participate.
9. That barring the end of the company party that gave me a wicked migraine, overall it was pretty damn pleasant (and that’s with me coming off a LONG ass work day, plus a long ass Ass-Chewing by The Boss, AND it being my MoonTime, so that’s really saying something!) AND that he received a very coveted (and well deserved) award from the company.
10. Gorgeous weather once again. We had a few days of cold and stormy weather, but we are sunny and back up in the 70s for the next few days. Josey and I are thoroughly enjoying the sunshine!

Athame & Boss BS

written: Jan 18th

Today’s #cy365 photo prompt is “Chosen”. The Husband CHOSE me to take him back to the doctor because his allergies/cold/whatever isn’t getting any better. And while we were waiting at Tom Thumb for his prescriptions to get filled, I saw these GORGEOUS dark lilies:



The following is copied over from a late night, handwritten journal entry (I just randomly grabbed one of the MANY journals I have chillin’ on the bookshelf by my bedroom door):

It is always fun to pick up an old, unfinished journal and just thumb through it to see a snap-shot of your life at that moment in time. Like at the front of this particular journal, I wrote out a very nice consecration ritual for a previous athame. It honestly shocked me how well laid out the ritual was – I wrote it in 2011. And it breaks my heart all over again, because that very special athame was lost/stolen by the person I was having make a personal sheath for it. Still, after these years, it makes me want to cry and commit homicide in the same breath.

But I really like the consecration ritual. Maybe I “stumbled” across it because I need to re-consecrate my current tools once again? I am just not a real big believer in coincidences. I choose to see meaning there instead. So I will rework the newly rediscovered consecration ritual to work for my current athame. And I came across an altar consecration ritual a few days ago that I want to modify and use as well. My current altar has not been consecrated or dedicated properly. I just jumped right into using it, and while that does make it sacred, it is better to set aside a time to properly consecrate and dedicate it.
===
So, The Boss ended up doing a No Call, No Show.

And NONE of us were surprised. Because this is what she does ALL THE FUCKING TIME! And it drives us all up the wall. Because, how can you TRUST someone to follow through on anything when 9 times out of 10 they don’t????

I’m really so fucking over her bullshit. I’m just playing the waiting game now. I’m sure she’ll come out at some point to show me how to “properly” run my campus. And I’ll be polite and listen to her directions. But I will stand firm on how we do some things because THOSE ARE THE BEST WAYS FOR MY FUCKING CAMPUS. And when she doesn’t listen, and I feel completely unheard AGAIN, I will then request a meeting with her boss (who was my boss previously). Maybe then we can actually get to the bottom of things and start working on some damn two-way communication.

The Husband says it sounds like my boss has put me in her crosshairs because of all the site supervisors she oversees, I am the one that could easily do her job. That maybe she’s threatened by me?

And while yes, I’m sure I could do her job and do it decently well….I don’t fucking want it. At all. I’ve also made it no secret that I’m working on my Master’s degree and once that is done, I will be moving on. ::sighs:: I just wish I knew WHY she’s micro-managing me so damn hard. And I wonder if she’s doing this to other site supervisors…..or if I’m just her pet project. ::grumbles::

The Ogre

written: Jan 17th

Today’s #cy365 photo prompt is “Bubbles”. I was planning to take a bubble bath and take a photo of those bubbles…but Josey was actually letting me cuddle with her, so here’s a photo of us being adorable.



We were hiding out in my room because The Husband had taken the day off of work (because I HAVE the day off of work – got to love these random “student holidays” the school district gives us – since when do we get TWO days off for Martin Luther King, Jr day?) and he was in a right foul mood. I nicknamed him The Ogre today because that’s how he’s behaving. ::laughs::

He up and decided to completely rearrange the living room and “dining” room area, and of course, nothing is going according to plan. He’s pissed because it’s his day off, but he was woken up early because of his boss texting him and then the internet guy showed up to finally fix the ‘net for us, AND Josey threw up in his room….AND apparently his allergies are horrible today. So yes, his grumpiness is high today, and it’s justified, but that doesn’t mean I want to be anywhere near it. Hence, me and Josey hiding out upstairs while The Ogre cusses and grumbles downstairs. ::chuckles:: Poor guy.

But I did get my letter written to my new Pagan pen-pal. I just need to make a copy of the Tabula Rasa ritual article and then I can mail that out.

My Spring semester begins today for grad school. Hurray for INFO5292 (Preservation of Library Materials) and INFO 5303 (Financial & Human Resources Management in Information Agencies). Not that thrilled about the management class, but it is something I need to learn more about, hence why I’m taking it. I am excited about the Preservation class – because I am interested in working in archiving. I’ll need that knowledge base if I am to do my journal/diary/sketchbook repository sometime in the future. ::smiles::

===
Love having the internet back. I did some researching on the Sweetening Spell. It is of Hoodoo origin and there are so many different variations out there. I’m crafting some of the various suggestions together to come up with my own version. I’ve got the supplies and everything ready to go. I just need to DO it. And do it soon. The Boss is supposed to come out to campus tomorrow, so I need that good mojo flowing sooner rather than later.

Don't Challenge Storms

written: Jan 16th

Whew buddy! Seems the storm took my comment about it knocking the power out for a little bit as a serious affront to its honor and that bitch KILLED my internet! Like, dude, that’s harsh! Power was fine, but it slaughtered my internet. The soonest the Techs can get out to fix it is TUESDAY! ::grumbles:: So yeah, I have a full day off of work today and NO internet!

So, I finally got my butt in gear and finished the smudging. On January 1st, I smudged the house down with an amazingly smoky sage bundle, to drive out all the stale, negative residue from 2016. I had every intention of smudging down the following day with sweetgrass to invite in good and positive energy. But I never did get around to it. Until today. I had forgotten how good sweetgrass smells and how little it smokes.

Today’s photo is of that. The same eagle feather that I used on the 1st, and that is always present on my altar. And a braid of sweetgrass. Note to self: Look into picking some more up, as I would like to make it a point to smudge down the house periodically to keep the negative energy from piling up and tainting everything in our lives.



I went and played at Michael’s for a bit, looking for spell jars for the Sweetening Spell I need to do asap. Found the perfect ones. Not too big and not too tiny. I have two of those cute little jars soaking up the good energy from my altar (called “charging” in the Pagan world). I just need to toss the spell together and get it set before Wednesday. That’s the big day that my boss is going to come out and show me how to “properly” run my campus (even though she’s NEVER worked on one of our campuses in our after school program, ever). ::rolls her eyes:: As you can tell, I am less than thrilled at this prospect and am less than open to the idea either. So yeah, I need a bit of help in that department, so hopefully this spell will be a nudge in the right direction.

Seeing as how my internet is down, I spent the day catching up on my 10-year journal (around 2 sentences per day). Because of the down time from no internet, I got all of 2016 done, and most of 2017 thus far this year done as well. I also got caught up on my goal of writing down three things I am grateful for each day. I just need to transfer the rough draft information over into the journal I have specifically for that.

Wednesday, hopefully while my boss is running my campus for me (showing me all the ways I am doing everything wrong), I can sneak away and make some copies for myself. I need to copy the article over the Tabula Rasa ritual, so I can send it to a new Pagan pen-pal of mine. I had mentioned it in my first letter to her and she’s interested, but couldn’t find any information on it. So I’ll copy the article and send it along with the letter I’ve written to her.

Sweetening

written: Jan 15th

The #cy365 photo prompt for today is “Now”:



Yeah, we lost power for a little bit earlier today due to an AWESOME thunder and lightning and rainstorm that blew through. Brief, but fierce little storm.

The 2017 YT Pagan Challenge prompt for Week 2 is “How do you protect and consecrate your book?”

I am assuming the question is in reference to what magickal means I employ in the protection and/or consecration of my Grimoire. Honestly, I had not even thought about it until this question popped up. ::chuckles:: Such a terrible Pagan I am!

My Book of Mirrors has a book blessing in it that I mostly like. My current Working Grimoire does not have it – there were parts of the book blessing that do not quite resonate with my Path and I am still mulling over how to modify the book blessing to better suit my needs. Until then, there is no book blessing.

As for consecrating it? The thought had not even crossed my mind either. And yet, consecrating other items seems to be a no-brainer to my mind. ::laughs:: I guess because it is not really DONE until the end of the year, when I get it all bound together in its final book form. Right now, it is very much a work in progress and as such, I had not even given it a thought as to consecrating it or blessing it. But maybe I should look into doing that… Something else for me to ponder for a bit.

I am loving the 2017 YT Pagan Challenge because it is giving me another peek inside other Pagans’ Books of Shadows, Magickal Journals, and/or Grimoires. I absolutely ADORE being invited in to see another Witch’s work. I am a peeping Tom when it comes to other’s journals, be they magickal or otherwise…as long as I have permission.

I am not ok with violating another’s trust just to satisfy my own curiosity. That is something I stress with my students when we do journaling at the after school program – you may not look inside another’s journal without their expressed permission. And I told them that this rule also goes for me. I will not look through their journals unless they give me permission. And when I do ask for permission, I do remind them that they can say no, if they don’t want me looking in there. It won’t hurt my feelings. A lot respond very positively to this. There are some things they will share, and others they elect to keep private and when they see me respecting that and requiring others to respect that as well, I think it goes a long way to building trust with the students.

And given that we are talking about the students and work….I need to make a quick run to Michael’s tomorrow and pick up a small bottle that I can use for some spell work. Mary mentioned a Santeria charm to get someone to chill out and has offered to send me some of the ingredients. Which then reminded me of the folk magick of a Sweetening Spell – it’s supposed to sweeten a person’s disposition towards you. I am thinking with the animosity between me and Gail, this would be a good first step. I’ll also do it on myself, to aid in sweetening my disposition towards her. As much as I would love to claim myself blameless, I am so damn defensive now when she shows up to “talk” to me, that nothing good comes of it. So a sweetening spell for the two of us to see if we can actually work together.

Canines

It’s been a nice, quiet day here at home. No residual migraine left-overs, so I’m very, very grateful for that.

Photo from today:


Josey in her favorite place on a cold, dreary day…in front of the space heater….with three bones AND a ball. ::chuckles:: She is set!

Back on Thursday, I had my Full Wolf Moon ritual and it turned out quite nicely. It’s the first ritual of the year, and it honors my favorite animal in the entire world and one that I work with constantly. It’s the Esbat (full moon ritual) that I cleanse, consecrate, bless, and rededicate all my various wolf-based items.

Photo with the lights on:


Galaxy coyote skull
Athame
2 white candles (for the Full Moon)
Black 7-day candle (left over from Samhain)
Wooden wolf statue (a gift from David that he gave me when I got back from my 1st trip to Wolf Park)
Necklaces on the statue: snowflake obsidian necklace and a wolf claw necklace (gift from Brandy)
Selenite sphere (representation of the full moon)
Frosted glass wolf pack candle holder (gift from my mom)
Altar pentacle with 3 necklaces: Wolf Pentacle necklace (gift from my husband), Wire-wrapped Wolf Claw necklace (purchased from SkyBlaze), and Wolf Medallion necklace (that hangs in my car, that I purchased my first semester at college).
Incense holder with eagle feather and Gray Wolf Incense (by Harvest Moon Haven )
2 more white candles (for the Full Moon)

All the wolf items were individually cleansed through smoke (incense), fire (candle flame), earth (pentacle), and water (Wolf Spirit Oil). The new candle I put in the wolf pack candle holder was also rubbed down with the Wolf Spirit Oil (that stuff smells sooooo amazing).

By candle light only:


Shadow selfie:

Pick Your Battles

written: January 13th 

Whew! I survived the looooooong ass day!

First off, it was an early release day….which means my after school program starts much earlier but runs until the same time. So I’m on the clock from 11:15 am until 6:30 pm…no “real” breaks to speak of. Thank goodness I have such an amazing team of aides and we make sure to cover when someone needs a bathroom break or just a mental health 5 minute breather.

My boss came out and pretty much griped me out for a load of bullshit. Apparently the sub we got the other day, even though we were fully staffed, told Gail that we don’t do reading time or homework time…and zero activities. We just play and color and that’s it. Such bullshit, because all that sub did the entire time she was on our campus was gossip, trash-talk Gail, and talk herself up to how awesome and bad-ass she is. Fucking liar.

But of course, Gail is taking the sub’s side, and so I got read the riot act for a good 45 minutes. After 15 minutes of me explaining how I run my campus and attempting to defend WHY I run it a particular way, I could see that it was simply going in one ear and out the other. She’d already made up her mind on how it was going to go and that I was merely drawing out the ass-chewing. So I shut my mouth and feinted interest in what bullshit she was spouting, hoping she would tired out her jaw and go away.

She THEN proceeded to go talk to Amber (my annoying aide, who is in charge of the activities portion of the program) and chew HER out for 30 minutes. And then Gail told Amber that Gail will be back out on my campus on Wednesday (when we get back from our 4-day weekend) to show us how to run our campus “properly”.

What the ever loving FUCK?! She sure as shit didn’t say this to me while we were talking and she mentioned in the parent satisfaction survey, that my campus was one of the highest scoring campuses in the entire program AND we also had the highest percentage of parent participation in the survey. So tell me, why the fuck are we busting my chops here? The parents are happy. The kids are happy. My campus is pretty damn calm and we certainly don’t have many issues that require the boss’s attention (excluding 2 shitty fucking aides they tried to saddle me with). I’m sure there are far bigger issues out there that require Gail’s attention rather than micro-managing my damn campus.

I am thinking it’s getting very, very close to a time for me to request a meeting with our head boss, Kelly. Talking to other campuses in different zones (there are three zones – Gail is the zone supervisor for my zone), they say that the “curriculum” is optional – you can either do the curriculum they’ve created for us, or they can create their own. I’ve been doing the “create your own” version because I’ve got some really good projects that the kids really enjoy, AND because the curriculum they gave us are very questionable. But now, today, I’m being told I don’t have the option? That I HAVE to use the curriculum they gave us, but if I want to ADD on to the curriculum, then I can do that. ::shakes her head::

So yeah, I’m rather curious to see how Wednesday goes. I will not sabotage it and I will instruct my staff to follow Gail’s lead in all things. I am fairly confident that I run my campus quite well for all the quirks that occur naturally on my campus. But I am not so arrogant to believe that my way is the ONLY way. We’ll try it her way and see if it works.

But I’m not going to lie either. It would give me such unending pleasure to have it crash and burn in the most horrible of ways (that do not put my students in harm’s way). I am not above admitting that I would love nothing more than to watch my boss crash and burn and then I would have to swoop in and save the day.

After all that bull shit, I came home and got ready to go to my husband’s company party. Honestly, it turned out a LOT better than I thought it would. Food was decent. Two glasses of VERY strong wine. Husband even received an award this year! Woot woot!



But it ended on a sour note when they started up the disco lights for the “dance floor” and cranked the music to ear-piercing levels. It wouldn’t have been bad if there had been some base to the music, but I swear they cranked the treble up all the way. All of that triggered a migraine on the spot. It’s been ages since I’ve had one triggered that swiftly and brutally. Hell, I ended up taking my punk ass to bed at 10:30 pm because it was so bad (I typically don’t go to bed until 1 am).

Thankful Thursday 02

I didn’t use the #cy365 prompt for day (it was “Icy Bokeh” – because it isn’t icy here at all, and I’m not skilled in creating boken in my photography). And seeing as how today is the Full Wolf Moon (a pretty important Esbat in my Path), I am doing this instead:



I am thankful….
1. Very nice Full Wolf Moon ritual. It was a pleasant way to reconnect with my Spirit Wolf and re-bless all my wolf tokens.
2. Lindsey C. (former student, and one of my absolute favorites) stopped by today to say hello. She’s a 9th grader now! And she seems to be every bit as awesome as she was in my after school program.
3. Annette’s journal arrived earlier this week. It’s the last journal I will work in during this current journal swap. After this, the journals all return home and I’ll get mine back, with amazing work done by John, Mary, and Annette. I can’t wait to see what all they’ve done in my journal.
4. I love the way my room smells after a ritual – the mingling of incense, candle wax, magick, and mischief. Love, love, LOVE it! It never fails to bring a smile to my face, even hours after the ritual has concluded.
5. Making progress in Josey’s walking manners. She still has a long ways to go to be the walking dog I want her to be, but I can see the progress and that motivates me to continue working with her as much as I can.
6. Finally doing some work in my working Grimoire. And I’m giving myself a lot of creative license and am breaking any “rules” my mind enjoys setting up for these things. I can add in art however I wish, or NOT add it in. It’s all up in the air and I’m loving it. I’m actually motivated to work in it.
7. The “light” side of the Pagan YouTube universe – the wisdom, inspiration, and friendliness. It helps to balance out the “dark” side that gives me flashbacks to middle school. ::shudders::
8. That my dark blue altar cloth arrived in time for my ritual and that it is even more beautiful in person than the photos led me to believe. I am NEVER disappointed with the seller Aileen, and I’ve purchased plenty of scarves from them for this purpose.
9. That tomorrow is an early release day. Even though it makes for a VERY long work day for me, it is money in the bank, which is greatly appreciated as I had two weeks off for Winter Break.
10. Going into a 4 day weekend, as we have Monday and Tuesday off. I am hoping for some serious art and journaling time and to finish cleaning out my closet. Maybe even try out a new recipe. ::smiles::