Blanket Fort

written:  August 28

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Little Miss Leviathan was out cruising her tank this evening. I love my little girl. Hard to believe she’ll be turning 13 years old next week!

Rough day today.

My doctor’s nurse called this morning. She was letting me know that someone will be calling me to schedule my thyroid sonogram in the next few days. And then she wants me to come back in and do another blood test, to check for gluten sensitivity. ::sighs:: I know that gluten sensitivity isn’t the end of the world. But seriously? All the food I LOVE is gluten based. If I have gluten sensitivity, that means I’m going to have to make a HUGE life change in my diet. And I’m just being real here…I don’t know if I have the energy right now to even begin to tackle that massive undertaking.

Depression is still smothering me. Thank goodness I’m only working part-time right now, and I know my staff and campus NEED me to be there. Because, otherwise? I’d just hibernate for the foreseeable future. I don’t know how people with depression more severe than mine can hold down full-time jobs. Because, I’m struggling hard right now with what little I do. I dunno. Maybe that’s the depression talking?

I’m bouncing between depression and rage.

Me and the other two students in the Coven are supposed to be working together to create and perform the next full moon ritual for our Coven. And while there has been SOME discussion, Nicki went ahead and filled out the Ritual Outline. And it just made me so damn mad, because I wasn’t consulted before she did that. And I know I’m just being grumpy, but fuck man. I’m GRUMPY. And Elise, the other student, is nowhere to be found. And this has been an issue previously as well.

Oh well. At least Nicki is willing to take the lead on this. I’m not in the mood to do so. I’ll be invoking the goddess Hecate for this ritual. I may end up doing the altar as well. Both of those are things I still have to do to fulfill my Coven homework for the Goddess section and the Sacred Space section. I still have a shit ton left to do, but have like zero motivation to do it.

Seriously, if I had my way, I would build a blanket fort in the living room. I would stock it with Starbucks madeleine cookies and croissants and chai lattes. And I would doodle and binge watch Season 2 of Mindhunter.

Glorious

written:  August 27

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Showing off some of the random white blossoms our rocket red crape myrtle has from time to time.
GLORIOUS day! I woke up to rain and thunder and wonderfully cooler temperatures. The crows were hanging out in the tree and chattering among themselves.

Work was decent enough.

Typically we go get Jimmy Johns on Tuesday evenings. But I had zero desire to go back out to get food. And the one we like, won’t deliver to our area because there is a closer one. But that one…we’ve NEVER had good luck with it, so we don’t order from them. So instead…I suggested we get Domino’s pizza. Turns out, they are having a special – 50% off any orders made on-line. ::smiles:: It’s like it was meant to be.

Wishing

written:  August 26

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Lovely and awesome card from Belarus via Postcrossing. I want to try my hand at drawing the Paparac-Kvietka. It reminds me a lot of some of the designs I would draw when I was creating Mandalas. I really should make time to get back into drawing those again. I really did enjoy drawing them.

Dumb Ass

written:  August 25

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A very scruffy-looking Jimothy, son of Cleetus and Velveeta (mockingbirds).

I’m rather “checked-out” mentally at this point.

David worked on the stones in the backyard. Even though I told him not to because we were under a heat advisory. But of course, there is no changing his mind when he’s set it, so he worked.

And then he came in and told me he had thrown up and was asking what he should do. Like, dammit man, you were a fucking Airborne Ranger…how do you NOT know what the fuck to do for heat exhaustion?? ::sighs:: So I told him to eat some crackers and then take a shower as cold as he could stand it.

It just pisses me off. We couldn’t listen to me and WAIT to do the yard work until a less hot day. But we needed to ask me what to do when we got heat exhaustion. ::shakes her head:: I have zero sympathies for him right now.

Man, I just need a vacation for a few days.

Spiralling

written:  August 24

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My pretty Josey-puppers, contemplating if she should continue napping or if she should get up. She elected to resume napping. ::chuckles::

So my blood work came back positive for thyroid antibodies. I’ll set up a time to get my thyroid sonogram when I go see my doctor again on September 23rd. I’m trying really hard not to spiral out on this, as Hashimoto (IF I even have it), isn’t that terrible in terms of autoimmune diseases. But of course, my Death To All Things Brain, is going worst case scenario on me. Hell, I would be happy to have just Hashimoto, if I could get rid of the damn depression. That would be AMAZING.

In other news, I’ve been working in Dorene’s journal. Like, actually painting and whatnot. ::laughs:: Gotta get on the ball, as I’m due to ship it out to Sharmila FRIDAY. ::sighs:: This procrastination as GOT TO GO.

Ankle

written:  August 23

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Yeah, so apparently I injured my ankle somehow yesterday during my fainting spell while getting my blood taken. I swear, I’m the most amazing clutz. ::chuckles::

I finally got back to work today. It was kind of heart-warming to have so many people inquire where I had been. For someone who really likes to stick to the shadows, it is nice to know that people do miss my presence. ::chuckles::

Fainting

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My plumbago plant has bloomed! It’s kind of hard to tell, but there is this pale baby blue to the centers of each petal. It’s just gorgeous. And occult-wise it’s good for headaches and getting rid of nightmares. So yeah, I’ll have harvesting some of the flowers to dry them and use them magickally. I plan do to a page in my witch’s journal about this plant.

I had my appointment with my doctor today, and fuck man, I just love her even more. After really talking in depth with her, we both agree with what my Mom had said years ago – I’m not bipolar. I have Major Depression – more accurately, my doctor has labeled me as having Dysthymia (chronic depression). We are also testing to see if I have Hashimoto (an auto-immune thyroid issue), as I do have a low-acting thyroid.

Yeah, it’s been years, but when I got my blood taken today…I straight up passed out. ::sighs:: And my hands were trying to seize up. So, I obviously didn’t go to work. Hell, the phlebotomists weren’t even sure they were going to let me drive home after I got myself under control again. They really wanted me to call someone to come pick me up. But it was noon, and I knew it would be at least an hour before my husband could get over to the office to pick me up, so I opted just to wait a bit longer with them until I regained some color and then drove myself home. I drank some water and gatoraid and ate some cereal and then I took a nap.

So we are upping my Pristiq dosage. And then the doctor is prescribing a mood stabilizer as well. I can’t remember what it’s called, but she did explain that she’s using this one because the other one usually has MAJOR weight-gain as a side effect.

Interview

written:  August 21

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This are my current fruit obsession. Which is funny, because my brother also likes them. But I like them because of the plum aspect while he likes them because of the apricot aspect. ::chuckles:: We are just polar opposites on just about everything, but we would both drop everything to help the other one out in a heartbeat.

My interview went very well today. The two ladies conducting the interview seemed a little put out that I didn’t have a year’s worth of experience, but also seemed really pleasantly surprised at my answers to various questions they posed me. So, fingers crossed! I should hear back, one way or the other in the next couple of weeks. Please, please, please, let them CALL me to tell me I got the job instead of getting a letter from HR saying I didn’t get the job.

Seriously though, this would get a great place to work. Beyond the library itself being awesome, it’s about 20 minutes from my husband’s place of work. So if it were to work out, and I could see myself staying there for a while, we could possibly look into moving over in that general area, and cut down on our commute times.

Other than that, today has been a bit, blah. I did run over to Tuesday Morning to pick up some stamps for my Canadian friend, Tara L. So I did accomplish that. But I think that’s about it.

I cooked dinner, but didn’t really eat it. It just didn’t taste good – another tell-tale sign of my depression, as my husband said the food was just as good as it always is. Tomorrow’s appointment with my doctor just can’t come soon enough.

Witching

written:  August 20

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Putting the CRAFT into witchcraft. ::laughs:: I FINALLY got around to wood-burning Sekhmet’s name in hieroglyphics on a piece of wood I’ve had for most of the summer.

In fun news, the G. Public Library wants me to come in and do an interview…TOMORROW! So after some shuffling around of my schedule, and rescheduling my doctor’s appointment, I have an interview tomorrow at 11 am. And I’ve decided to go ahead and take the day off of work, just in case.
That way, I don’t have to worry about if the interview runs long, or traffic is a complete nightmare or anything like that. That way I can spend all of tomorrow focusing on the interview.

And you better believe, I am getting my Witch-on for this as well. I don’t do a whole lot of spell work, but when I do? I pull out all the stops. So fingers crossed! ::smiles::

Plumbago

written:  August 19

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My first little blossom on the Plumbago plant that my brother gave me. I’m super excited. It will have these pale blue blossoms. And from what I’ve read, as long as I bring it inside if the weather dips below 32 degrees…it’s damn near impossible to kill.

In blessed news, the G. Public Library called me today to say that I get to go onto the next step in the application process. They will send me a writing prompt that I have 30 minutes to complete and send back to them. And from there, maybe an interview? ::fingers crossed:: Man, I hope so! I was just beginning to lose hope. I do still have the information from the F. Library (where I did my practicum hours) about volunteering, so if this doesn’t pan out, then I’ll apply to be an adult volunteer and see about getting more library experience that way.

Fingers crossed that the G. Public Library works out. As much as I love the F. Library, I hate working for free!

Rituals

written:  August 18

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A book I recommended to my Coven last night. It surprises me a bit that none of them have even heard of it. Seriously, any Pagan/Witch/Wiccan that creates their own rituals needs to read it. It’s not a light read, or one that you’ll read in one sitting, but it is so damn good on explaining the various parts of creating a good ritual. It is written by a Dianic witch, so it’s very more female-orientated, but still, a damn good resource.

Kristi has also dropped out of the Coven because her work-life just demands too much from her currently to be able to make the Coven any sort of priority. So, student-wise, there is just Me, Nicki, and Elisa left.

We had ritual at Aesa’s apartment and I finally got to meet and love on her ADORABLE corgi, Ripley. ::grins:: Ritual with the group was awesome as well, and gave me some serious food for thought. We three students were told we are responsible for creating next month’s full moon ritual – the whole shebang! I’m rather excited about it, even though I don’t care much for group work like that.

I’m already making plans for the full moon ritual that I will be 100% responsible for. I’m thinking some good little spell bottles could be a LOT of fun. ::smiles::

Like a Ton of Bricks

written:  August 17

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I almost completely forgot to get a photo for today. So I quickly snapped a shot of my Witch’s Arrow necklace. It’s currently hanging around Godzilla’s neck (along with my graduation tassel).

I found out that a LARPing acquaintance had a brain aneurysm a few days ago, and has been declared brain dead. It’s a complete shocker and something that really came out of left field. I didn’t know him all that well, but it’s still hitting hard.

A Witch...

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I have titled this photo “A Witch and her Bitch”. ::laughs::

My Witch’s Arrow necklace arrived today from the Poisoner’s Apothecary and I was wanting to take an artistic selfie to show it off. Josey-pup decided she needed to photo bomb it, but I think it turned out quite nicely. I want a longer chain for the necklace, but other than that, it’s AMAZING. I plan to wear it to my Coven classes and rituals from now on. ::smiles::

Made it through the first week of the after school program. My admin laptop completely died today. ::sighs:: So we were back to the paper-roster, AND had no way to verify parent information. Man, I just LOVE technology. (sooooo much sarcasm there).

One of the mom’s stopped in today to pick up her two sons that are in my program. And she asked why I was still working at the after school program, but swiftly said she was THRILLED to have me still there. ::laughs:: So I explained that I’m job hunting right now. And she told me, how both her husband and her two boys were THRILLED when they got the email about first day procedures and it had my signature on it. Totally warmed my heart. I had her daughter (who is now in the 7th grade) as a kindergartener, so I’ve had this family for a while now. It’s nice to be appreciated.

Motivation

written:  August 15

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Some fun Halloween themed stamps I picked up earlier at the Tuesday Morning store. I’ll be going back and picking up another set for a friend in Canada (Tara L.), since she doesn’t have that store up there and apparently Michael’s craft store charges crazy prices for stamps. She does a lot of scrapbooking and is Pagan, so these are perfect for her.

Since I already knew I had to take a shower before I went to work today and the heat wasn’t god-awful, I took Josey-pup on a walk. We haven’t done that in a while, since the heat index has been up around 110+ for weeks now. And then, since I was already sweaty from that, I decided to use the elliptical as well. I bumped up the level (resistance) on the elliptical and man, my knees were NOT happy.

It seems after an evening of bad depression, I’m always ready to take on the world the next morning. ::shrugs:: I just wish it didn’t take a bad night to get me going the next morning. Like, can I have this motivation WITHOUT the soul-crushing depression? That would REALLY nice.

Since I have my mornings back now that the after school program has started up AND my husband has returned to work (he was on vacation the past week and a half), maybe I can start doing some of those crafty ideas that have been collecting and breeding on my Pinterest board.

Job hunting is disheartening. Almost every library job wants someone with a minimum of one year’s experience working IN a library. I don’t have that. ::sighs:: So now I’m trying to figure out how I can do a year part time in a library while still maintaining health insurance. The part time jobs, for the most part, don’t require a year’s worth of library experience…but most of the time, they don’t offer any benefits, AND the pay is a lot lower than what I make at the after school program. And really, it’s the anti-depressant medication that REQUIRES me to be on health insurance. A month’s supply without health insurance is around $350. On my current insurance, it’s FREE. And if I’m only working 19 hours a week at $9 an hour…that’s more than half my month’s paycheck. And I have other bills to pay as well. ::sighs:: Maybe I could volunteer at the school library where my after school program is in the mornings during the school year. Then I would at least have SOME experience under my belt and still run my after school program (for the pay and the health insurance). All the part time library jobs I’ve seen thus far have their hours in the afternoon, evenings, and weekends. Which, I’m fine with the weekends. I just can’t swing the afternoon/evenings due to my after school program.

Comfort

written:  August 14

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Comfort food for the win – chili cheese tater tots from Sonic.

Long day, but a good day for the most part. The kiddos were good, but LOUD. Like oh my aching ears LOUD. Technology did better today than yesterday, but is still leaving a LOT to be desired.

And when I got home, I just bottomed out so friggin’ hard. Not as low as I was at the first of the month, but still pretty damn low in depression. Guess I should make an appointment with my doc and see if we need to increase the anti-depressants. I just hate this evening depression shit. Like, my day goes well enough, no triggers there. But then I get home and I just bottom out. ::sighs:: Sucks.

Survived

written:  August 13

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I managed to get a quick picture of the almost-full moon. A few minutes later, the clouds covered her up.

Today was the first day of the school year. And honestly, it went worlds better than I thought it would – at least for the kiddos. The technology was wonky as well, and my admin computer dies anytime I unplug it. So that was lovely. But I will take misbehaving computers over misbehaving students any day of the week.

Work BS

written:  August 12

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Finished my Zen Doodle thing and I actually really like how it finally turned out. Sure there are things I can improve on. But as a whole, I’m pretty happy with it.

We got to spend a few hours on campus today, getting everything ready for the first day tomorrow. Figured out that my admin laptop shuts down completely if I unplug it, even though it says the battery is fully charged. ::sighs:: Well, I already had to talk to Stalker Tommy to get the printers reinstalled on the laptop, so while he was in my office, I also told him about that. He’ll look into it. Man, he smelled like sweaty boy. No body odor, but SWEATY kid smell. ::crinkles her nose:: And it made my office smell like sweaty boy for a good hour after he left. Gross. And apparently he isn’t do any tooth care, as he’s not missing a front tooth and the rest of his teeth are black-ish. It’s like he dips and doesn’t brush or swish or anything. Yeah, I’m living the dream here with HIM as my stalker. ::gags:: Lucky me!

Other than that, there wasn’t a whole lot to do on campus. We did a pretty good job at the end of the last school year of preparing as much as we could for the upcoming school year.

And then the bosses added ANOTHER student today to my roster. Bringing me up to 72 students. And this one is one of the special needs kids that has a BIC in place. Hurray. ::sighs:: Hopefully I get my 5th aide soon…but I’m not holding my breath.

Wendy (a pen pal) was supposed to come visit next week and I had planned to just take the day off and hang out with her. But with us having 72 students and 6 or so that are special needs, and there being no guarantee that they would even get a sub to cover my position, I just can’t do that to my staff this early in the game. ::sighs:: So yeah. The plan now is to hopefully swing by her place on my trip to Atlanta in October. Because I’m NOT giving that trip up. Work can just suck at that point.

Spoiled

written:  August 11

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David bought me an umbrella for my lil area on the patio. He’s done ALL of the work you see here. There used to be this shitty, utterly useless brick wall that he took down so we could use the full side yard. He laid all the stone work. He put in the railing as well. ::smiles:: I am seriously spoiled.

I snagged a locket from the Poisoner’s Apothecary. It’s the Witch’s Arrow locket and has Wolfsbane, yew and yarrow along with a snake shed. I was debating between this one and his Thor’s Helmet amulet. Thor’s Helmet has Wolfsbane, henbane, amber, a wolf bone, and coyote fur. But I went with the Witch’s Arrow.

Tomorrow the staff and I work on campus, getting everything as ready as we can for the first day back. I can’t believe summer is over. ::sighs::

Ravens

written:  August 10

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Yep, read this book today. The entire book. It is that good. I’ve added both of Margaret Rogerson’s books to my wish list. Seriously, if you like fantasy, with a strong female protagonist, read this book and Sorcery of Thorns. Soooo friggin’ good!

Other than that, it was a nice quiet day at home. I got to sleep in and just putter around the house. I got some pen pals written to along with a Postcrossing postcard sent out. I mailed out my “Power Moon” oil from Sage Goddess. A lady was seriously wanting it and actually ended up buying it from me because she didn’t have anything to trade that I wanted. ::chuckles:: Works for me! I didn’t care much for it, so I’m happy to sell it and ship it off to her.

Proud

written: August 09

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Bosses’ thank you for doing the Documentation class – a water bottle full of assorted candy. I think I may empty the candy out and actually use the water bottle this year at work. As much as I adore my Frappuccinos (the ones in the bottles that you can get at any gas station), I do know that I need to be drinking more water.

I can’t live off of caffeine and nicotine forever.

Today was the final day of actual Orientation. Special Ed came out to give a presentation, and for the most part, I really liked it. But then they decided to show a video that demonstrates how sensory overload feels like. Which, I get. The normies need to see what this is like for the rest of us (I do get sensory overload from time to time). But damn, I was already sitting in a room of 200 people for the past week. My nerves are more than a little frazzled as it is. And that? That was just too much. I ended up just plugging my ears and focusing on my paper until it was done.

And then I finally got around to depositing the check my Mom gave me for graduation – in the memo part of the check she had written “from Fwing she’s saying “Woohoo!” So I text Mom thanking her for that and for believing in me. Especially when I didn’t believe in myself. I told her that I was truly blessed to have her as my Mom.

And she wrote back “I always said I wish you could see yourself through my eyes!!”
And “I do believe we were given to each other for a reason…sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse! Lol! We both deserved the challenge!”
And then “Pop and Fwing are proud of you, too.”

Talk about making me cry! And David and I were about to head out to Texas Roadhouse. ::laughs:: So I had to go wash my face. ::smiles:: But it was a good thing and something I just really needed to hear then.

Pencils

written:  August 08

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A sleepy, but protective Josey, keeping an eye on the duck foot she tore off one of her toys.

Today we didn’t have Orientation. But I went in to help Roberta set up the campus lap tops. At my regular pay rate. Hells yeah for the win on that. I got in 6 or so hours to get half of the lap tops done (that’s how many had been re-imaged at that point). I also got to see Bruce and Sandy and they graciously gave me 100 brand new pencils to start the school year off right. ::smiles:: They’ve done that the past three years and we are always grateful for the new pencils. I swear, the students just eat them or something. Though, since I’ve started putting the bright Mt. Dew colored duct tape tags on them, the pencils are better about being returned to the pencil bag.

Joy Bots

written:  August 07

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My “Joy Bot” I made at orientation today. It’s a Be Unique Bot. ::smiles:: Because you know me. I can’t ever just follow directions. ::laughs:: And I had to do something that is uniquely me.

But I love the idea behind it. And we have a SHIT TON of dominoes at the campus that we don’t use. I don’t let the kiddos play with them because they are SO loud when they knock the dominoes down. But this way, we can have every kid make their own Joy Bot. And the Zone Leaders gave us the sharpies we were using to make these, so I have a huge gallon bag of brand new sharpies we can use. I think it would be cute to have each student make their own Joy Bot and tell us what its job is. Then we can photograph the Joy Bot, type up what they tell us the Bot does and display the photos and the write-ups in the cafeteria. Oooooh, we could even have the kiddos sign the write up before we hang it up to display. If I can photograph the students (if the parents have given us permission), it would be even cooler to photograph the kiddo with their Bot. I could even turn it into a small book thing for them to flip through and look at during our reading time. Sooooo many ideas!

Surprisingly, I’m rather excited about this school year. The lesson plans that they’ve put together seems to be pretty cool and something that would keep my kiddos’ interest. It’s a journey around the world, and in the first week, we have the kiddos make passports. I think it would be awesome to have stickers printed with the country flag and name, and let them put those in their passports (that we would keep on campus) as they do the crafts. And then at the end of the year, they would get to take it home. We could even put a couple of blank pages in the back, and let the kids autograph them that last week. I’m gonna need to write the ideas down in my work journal so I have access to them on campus. I really want to do this.

Engulfed

written:  August 06

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My husband found this rock out in the yard while digging and thought I would like it. ::smiles:: I have such a cool husband. He may not understand my obsession with rocks and stuff, but he knows it makes me happy so he’s happy to find things like this for me. And what’s even better is that it didn’t cost him a thing. ::chuckles::

Second day at Orientation. At least this day didn’t have any horrible comments from HR. ::chuckles:: Though we were supposed to be doing this ice breaker game, where you go around and have people sign off on things they’ve done over the summer – like a bingo game. I did a few and then opted to just sit down and talk with my staff members instead. Sam (one of the Zone Leaders) came over and asked if we were already done. I said no, and mentioned that I’m an introvert and that it would be nice if they would find ways to play to our strengths instead of always doing extrovert things. Then, for whatever reason, she decided that she should hug me? I was sitting down and she was standing up and she came in for the side hug. And I must mention here, Sam is a BIG lady. Which means she has MASSIVE boobs. And yeah, you can see where I’m going with this. Her left boob basically engulfed me. ::shakes her head:: Why do people want to hug me? Like, I don’t think I come across as someone who enjoys that. I’m highly selective with who I will hug. But some people just seem to WANT to hug me. I don’t get it.

Apparently I’m no longer as intimidating as I used to be. Guess I need work on that. ::chuckles::

HR guy emailed it back. He said that he feels he covered the differences between petty annoyances and truly offensive behavior. Yeah….but everyone that has reached out to me, and that I have in turn reached out to as well? Yeah, NO ONE got that message buddy. Not one single person of the 30 or so I’ve talked to. I’ll respond at some point because I don’t want him to feel like I’m letting him off the hook.

HR

written:  August 05

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Fabulous “HR” stuff at orientation today…that ended up having NOTHING to do with HR or orientation or anything really....

Speaking of HR, he blathered on about all sorts of stuff that had nothing to do with HR or our job…and then finished his speech off this with gem:
Nothing anyone says is offensive. You CHOOSE to be offended.

Now hold the fuck up. Are you kidding me? I legit saw red there for a second and Jess, my 2nd in command, had to lean over and ask if I was ok. No, I was hella pissed. I am TIRED of statements like that, that put all the responsibility on the marginalized group and zero responsibility on the person saying the shitty stuff.

I ended up emailing HR guy directly and airing my grievance. I am so proud of myself, as I used zero curse words. ::laughs:: And honestly, I am pretty damn pleased with how the letter turned out as well. I was so articulate and laid out all the issues, along with suggestions on how to avoid such pitfalls in the future. Now, I just wait to see how he responds.

Grumbles

written:  August 04

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Me, enjoying a Straw-ber-Rita that my Sis-in-Law bought us, but that we didn’t have the chance to drink there in Houston.

Man, the drive back from Houston was fine until we hit Dallas. And there was a MASSIVE wreck on 35 that had it shut down completely. I ended up doing a tad bit of “off-roading” with my Honda Civic so I could get to the access road. If I didn’t, we would have been stuck there for a good hour or so. Yeah, fuck that noise. ::laughs::

Other than that, we relaxed at home, did some laundry, and started preparing for my work week to begin tomorrow. I’m not overly pleased that I’m headed back to the after school program. But then again, I did drop the ball about applying to jobs, so really, I only have myself to blame.

BUT, I’m doing my best to stay positive and make the best out of this situation. Thankfully, I am back at my same campus, and Jess and Kaitlyn will be back with me as well. I’ll have two new aides to train, but at least it isn’t ALL new aides.

Besides, if I have to be stuck with a job, at least this one gives me the mornings off to do interviews, while paying me VERY well (especially for a part-time job) AND gives me full benefits. Oh, and the whole not working weekends, holidays, or school breaks is REALLY nice as well. ::chuckles::

Dudley

written:  August 03

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Down in Houston, hanging out with the family and FINALLY getting to meet this bundle of ENERGY – Dudley. Dude, I would so kidnap him and take him home with me in a heartbeat! ::laughs::

Also, getting to see my Lil Nephew, Lil Niece, along with my Mom, my brother, and sister-in-law was awesome as well. Lil Nephew turns FIVE today! Like, holy cow, how did that happen?

Plus we were celebrating that my brother got his major promotion and I got my Master’s degree. ::smiles::

Even David made it a point to be there. Which makes it kind of difficult on us, because we have to board Josey. But I’m so glad he went. We all had a great time. Lil Nephew and Lil Niece just LOVED having him there and he did a really good job with them as well. Especially when you consider he’s never really been around children as an adult.

Surprise

written:  August 02

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A FABULOUS surprise from a dear friend, April. It’s a set of the Wild Wood Tarot and a truly amazing, heart-felt written letter to me. Seriously, I have no problem saying that I got a bit misty eyed reading it. ::smiles::

I finished up the last of the Apple TVs and opted to head home a little early. All in all, a damn good last day at the Tech job. We had a pizza party with all of the Temps. I am always sad at the end of summer time, when I have to leave the Tech job. Seriously, after the snotty shit my head boss pulled earlier this week, if I could, I would shift over to working with the Tech department full time.

Lughnasadh

written:  August 01

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Beautiful Texas sun set. This is one of the nice things about smoking – it “forces” me outside more often, especially in this heat, and I get to see beautiful sights like this. ::chuckles:: I am cutting back on how MUCH I’m smoking, so that’s progress. During the End of Program Exam week, I was chain smoking and living off of coffee pretty much. I’ve been reigning that back in and getting it to a less dramatic level.

Blessed Lughnasadh! It’s the first harvest sabbat today. Traditionally, I would make a loaf of bread. But I didn’t this time around. Seems to be the theme for my year. I dunno. I’m just burnt out I guess. I celebrated it with the Coven, so I’m not beating myself up too much about it.

Blue

written:  July 31

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Ghostly Leviathan. If you look at her eyes, you can tell she’s gone “blue”. Her normally ruby red eyes are a milky blue color. She’ll shed sometime next week, so she’s a bit paler in color currently. I’ll have to make sure to get a photo of her once she’s shed. Her colors will be a bit more vibrant.

Well I finished up the Binders and the stuff I need for the documentation class yesterday, so technically I could have gone back to Technology today…but I decided I needed a ME day. Besides, Technology isn’t expecting me back until tomorrow anyways.

I finished up Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. SO amazing! I may seriously have to add that book to my personal library. I’ve put in a hold request on her first book, An Enchantment of Ravens. I hope it’s at least as half as good as Sorcery of Thorns. ::smiles::

And I’ve decided that when I get my Leucistic Texas rat snake, I will be getting a male and I will be naming him Silas after one of the characters in Sorcery of Thorns. ::smiles:: Not sure WHEN I’ll get said rat snake, but one of these days, I will. ::chuckles:: Along with a Woma python. Those are my two dream snakes (non-venomous). Venomous dream snakes are a gaboon viper, an African bush viper, and a Cape coral cobra. ::chuckles::

Sorcery of Thorns

written:  July 30

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I picked up this book at the Library when I finished up all my work for the after school program’s Orientation Week. It was recommended to me by my Canadian Twin, Brandy and she described it as being about “library wardens and sentient grimoires”. You know that peaked my interest. I picked up the book at 2:30 and read until my husband got home around 8:30 pm. I’m 410 pages into the 453-page book and I LOVE it. I seriously may have to pick up a copy to add to my own personal collection. It’s been ages since I’ve devoured a book like this…almost in one sitting.

I’m not going to work tomorrow. I’m giving myself that day off because I fucking need it. I’ve finished up everything for the binders AND the class on documentation that I teach. I technically could go back to the Tech Job early tomorrow…but yeah. I’m not. I’m sleeping in. I’m relaxing. And I’m going to start looking for library jobs. I dunno. My head boss, Kelly, was kind of snotty to me today, saying that “Oh, I thought you were going to be coming back? Did you even get your Master’s degree?”. And it was the tone that went with it, that just rubbed me the wrong way. It’s almost like she was disappointed that I was returning. It was just…snotty. It’s the only way I can really describe it.

So that’s lit a fire under my ass. Because, I was giving them a heads up that there was a possibility that I might not return this school year, based on if I got a library job. Because, I was trying to be a GOOD employee and I didn’t want to be the shitty one to call them two days before Orientation and say “I’m out!” without them ever knowing it was a possibility. Which, we have had 2 campus leaders and about 5 aides that I’m aware of that have quit this WEEK. Orientation is next week. So yeah, I was trying to be the “better person” here and I just got a whole lot of snotty attitude. So fuck that noise. I won’t be doing that any more.

So tomorrow’s plan is to apply for library jobs. Because I would love nothing more than to quit the after school job as soon as possible. I’m over the snark. I’m over the pettiness. I’m over the playing favorites. I’m over the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants type of leadership. I’m over it all.

Zen Doodle Thingie

written:  July 29

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Yeah, this Zen doodle thingie has certainly hit its “ugly” stage. I’m trying my hardest not to hate it or give up on it yet. I’m going to finish it out and then decide if I like it or not. ::laughs:: The yellow washi tape is there just to create a border. It will be removed once I finish filling it all in.

First day working on the campus leader binders. I hate that I was given little to no guidance on what the Zone Leaders want to see in these binders. Or what they think would be important. Nope. Just me. Doing everything on my own. As per usual. It doesn’t surprise me. This is their standard MO. It just sucks. I mean, if I’m doing THEIR work, I should get THEIR pay for it. But no. I’m getting even LESS than my standard pay, because it’s “summer help”. I seriously can’t wait to leave this damn job.

Dedication

written:  July 28

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The Mirror card from the Wild Wood Tarot that I drew this evening at Class. It’s a card of inner journey and the dark night of the soul. I also drew the 8 of Swords from the Wheel of the Year Tarot. Another not nice card. It’s about a lack of energy, imprisonment, and a lack of self-confidence. Yeah this next week should be a whole barrel full of fun. ::sighs and shakes her head::

The ritual went very well. I invoked the four directions and feel I did a really good job. Nicki and I both dedicated, and got our white cord. We are expected to wear these cords to all rituals from here on out as a symbol that we have taken this step. And since we both discussed the goddess in our dedications (to our Path), we don’t have to do that part. We also got a paper outlining the requirements for 1st Degree Initiation, even though that is a long ways off yet.

Tarot & Tea

written:  July 27

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A fun photo of my Chai latte and my current journal at The Perc for a Tarot and Tea with my Hazel Nut!

It’s been ages since we last did a Tarot and Tea. I miss my Hazel Nut. But there’s a possibility in the next year, that she may be moving to Oklahoma. That will seriously suck. I will seriously miss her. I mean, she’s my Hazel Nut!

I got to show off my Last Unicorn Tarot deck to her, but I’m still not quite ready to actually shuffle the deck and use it. It’s just too purdy. I also brought along my Spirit Animal Oracle deck, and damn it was spot on as well.

Telling me to own my own power. To seize the day. To basically stop being a little bitch and start applying for library jobs. And of course, during the reading, I had the distinct feeling I needed to pull the next card in the deck and pulled Spider – the symbol of the Coven. ::chuckles::

Rose

written:  July 26

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A rose I colored in the No.Art app – it’s a pixel coloring app that I am SUPER addicted to. ::laughs::

Last Friday off this summer. Next week I have to resume the standard 5-day work week. That sucks. I really enjoy the 3 day weekends.

Since I didn’t walk Josey-pup yesterday, we went for TWO walks today. ::smiles::

Other than that, not a whole lot to report on. Nice quiet day.