Drum, Deadpool, and Hawks

written: October 12th

Inner Witch October Photo-Challenge:

Day 12: It’s supposed to be the “Cauldron”. But I don’t have one. So instead, I took a photo of my current drum:

This is a 10 inch, elk hide drum that I made myself last year at a drum-making class. Love it. Because of its size, the voice of the drum is a bit higher pitched than I wanted. But, it’s the first drum I’ve ever had AND it’s one that I made myself, so she ain’t going anywhere. At some point, I do want to remake the beater. ::shrugs::

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It is amazing how I get into a “way of doing things” and then can’t deviate from it. ::laughs:: Photobucket (where I “host” my photos so I can upload them to my blog entries) was down for maintenance all day, and while I could write this entry no problem, I couldn’t post it because Photobucket was being a bitch and not uploading photos. And I couldn’t post the entry without my Photo-Challenge photos. ::laughs:: Ah the tangled web that is my mind and logic.

Apparently, Shitty McCreepy aide has already creeped out his new coworkers. He’s only been there a damn day! Carli (one of my amazing aides) has friends that work at TC campus and they were talking to her about him. Oh, and apparently he was discussing the movie Deadpool.......with a pack of 2nd graders.

Now don’t get me wrong. I ADORE Deadpool....but there isn’t a damn thing in that movie that would be appropriate to discuss with 2nd graders. ::shakes her head:: I sincerely believe this guy has ZERO business being around children. Period. But I guess it’s going to take an irate parent or two to actually get him fired.

Have I mentioned lately how much I can’t wait to finish up my degree and get a job outside of child care? Man, it never fails – give a child care job long enough....and it ALWAYS goes to shit. Hopefully, I won’t receive personalized death threats at this job..... ::laughs::

Hawks have been popping up in the flesh lately. Tuesday, I watch TWO different hawks hunt. A red-shouldered hawk attempted to take a bird on the wing (unsuccessful), and then 5 minutes later I saw a red-tailed hawk attempt to take a rabbit in a field (unsuccessful). Love these birds of prey. And given how many I’ve seen in the past few days, I’ll look into the totem qualities there.

To me personally, Hawk reminds me to let go of the bullshit that’s weighing me down. I need to take to the skies and get a broader view on my life, but you can’t do that if you are holding on to all the bullshit. Generally, Hawk also heralds a change in perspective or vision, so I’m curious to see what changes are on the wind for me.

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Happy Day

written: October 11th

Inner Witch October Photo-Challenge:

Day 10 : Broom

I don’t have a broom. I know, what a horrible witch I must be. But seriously, I don’t. And I have no desire for a broom in the foreseeable future. So I had to get creative again – Spooky Town to the rescue. ::grins::

Day 11: Goddess

My favorite Sekhmet statue (a gift from Susan) with my absolute FAVORITE painting of Sekhmet, by Kimberly. I really like how this photo turned out. Not bad for a camera attached to a phone.

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Today is the most amazing day! ::dances around all giddy like::

So my orders from Sage Goddess FINALLY arrived. I’ve been waiting on the amethyst since mid-September. But holy hell. To finally have it in hand, it’s amazing and so worth the wait.

It’s an AMAZING deep grape purple color. Gah, I love it.

And my Samhain candle came in, so I’m set for Samhain now. I’ll set that all up after the Full Moon (Sunday).

But the best thing.......my Supervisor called me at 1:15pm.
To tell me.....that she and my Upper Level Boss have decided to move Shitty McCreepy Pants aide to another campus.
Effective TODAY!!!!

So woohoo! ::kicks up her heels:: I am so happy! So relieved! It’s like a huge weight has been taken off of my chest and I can breathe freely once again.

And I could see that same weight lifted off of Jess and Carli (my two AMAZING aides) when I told them as well. We got a new aide from TC campus – which is where Shitty McCreepy Pants has been moved to.

I am so damn incredibly happy! Woot!

Drum

I just have to share the progress photos that Brandy has been sharing for my drum that I am purchasing from her.

It is GORGEOUS and breath-taking and being made 100% to my specs (plus what a few spirits are suggesting).

Face of the drum:

Moon phases around the edge:

More moons:

The beater:

Updated paw prints:

Updated moon phases:

I mean, oh my GERSH, it’s GORGEOUS!

Now I just have to finish paying for it and she’s got to put a few more finishing touches on it and then it gets to come home.

Pentacle and Plans

written: October 9th

Inner Witch October Photo-Challenge:

Day 9 = Pentacle

This is my current altar pentacle.
I purchased it from JadedAlchemy on Etsy (they’ve since disabled their Etsy account) back in 2011. It’s a beautiful pentacle with flanking caribou antlers.
Pine wood base (rosewood stain).
6 inches across.

Love it, but I may be letting this one go in the future. I haven’t decided just yet.

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Man, I am LOVING this four-day weekend. Three days thus far that I haven’t had to deal with Shitty McCreepy Pants (a shitty, creepy aide of mine) and I still have a WHOLE ‘NOTHER DAY to go! Woohoo!

I have been plugging away at the reading I have to do for INFO 5300. This is some seriously tedious reading, I swear. Still need to read the Case Study for INFO 5600’s chat on Monday. ::grumbles:: You know, 4-day weekends would be so much better if I didn’t have class work to do!

Weather has been GORGEOUS lately. Mostly sunny, up in the mid-80s with a nice cool breeze. It’s been rather pleasant to sit outside with the pup and just bask in beautiful weather.

I need to get to working on my Birthday Goals. I have a rough draft going, but I need to revisit that and figure out what I will truly be focusing on this coming year.

I also need to get to work on my Tabula Rasa Ritual (Latin for “clean slate”). I’m pretty sure I’m doing it in late December, but there’s a lot of legwork to be done to prep for it, so I need to get to chopping on that. I have to do a year review, which means going through all my journal and blog entries PLUS going through my FaceBook feed as well for the past year.

Classes & Pens

Inner Witch October Photo-Challenge:

Day 8 = Kitchen Witch

I am not a Kitchen Witch, so I had to get creative for this photo-prompt. Here is the “Coffin Cafe” in our “Spooky Town” set up that David maintains for the Halloween season.
That’s Henry the Dragon in the background.

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I’ve spent the day reading and taking notes for my INFO 5300 class (Management of Information Agencies), that, despite having a lot of real-world, CURRENT application in my life…it’s still not the most exciting shit to read. I’ve read 1 chapter and took 8+ pages of notes. Still have TWO more chapters to read! Oye!

And that doesn’t include the fact that I have to read a case-study and do a chat with my professors on Monday for the INFO 5600 class (Information Access & Knowledge Inquiry). But it’s what I gotta do to hopefully continue maintaining the A’s I have in both classes.

And when I haven’t been doing that, I did manage to cook up a batch of Sausage Balls. I used turkey sausage this time around (we are trying to eat a bit healthier here)....and surprisingly, I prefer the pork sausage. ::shrugs:: But it isn’t bad, and we’ll still eat them, no problem! ::laughs::

AND I’ve been slowly cleaning out all my fountain pens. They all got packed up for the move (back in April). And with everything that’s been going on, I completely forgot about them. I rediscovered them while trying to find a camera charger (hoping to send it to a friend as soon as I can find the fucker) and all the ink had dried up in the pens. So good long soaks in some warm water and gently flushing them out, I’ve got three of the five completely cleaned and dried. Just waiting on one to dry, and the other I still have to finish cleaning out.

And just for my information:
My Fountain Pens:
- Nemosine Singularity Demonstrator in “magenta” with a Medium Nib (won’t be ordering a medium nib ever again…though I may try out some of the shimmering inks with this particular pen)
- Rosetta Napoleon Pocket Fountain Pen in “purple marble” with a Fine Nib (gift from Mary…seriously love this pen).
- TWO Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pens, both in “python” with Fine Nibs (super awesome, beginner fountain pen here).
- Jinhao 6116 with a Fine Nib (gift from Mary)
- and a Hero 366 (maybe?) with a Fine Nib (another gift from Mary....she was trying damn hard to convert me over to fountain pens....the Napoleon did it).

Dave, one of the people I met through the National Letter Writing Month group, has requested in the journal swap he’s hosting, to use fountain pens. It’ll be a bit yet before his journal makes its way around to me, but I figured I should go ahead and dust off my fountain pens and get back into the practice of using ‘em.

Licensed Chest Crusher

written: October 7th

Inner Witch October Photo-Challenge:

Day 7 = Waxing Moon

I remembered the Photo Challenge too late in the day to get a photo of the actual waxing moon, which is what I would have LOVED to have done. Instead, I thought I could do a test page in my Bullet Journal / Catch-All Journal on the magickal properties of the various phases of the moon (as they are listed as prompts further on in the month).

I popped over to Pinterest with that intention and got sucked down the rabbit hole that IS Pinterest. And then I remembered, I don’t give a fuck what phase the moon is in for the use of magick. None of my magick is lunar tied. For me, I just like being out UNDER the moon, regardless of what phase it is in. So why would I put the time and effort into making various pages in my journal (to be later transferred into my Book of Shadows) that have NOTHING TO DO WITH MY PERSONAL PATH? Just stupid in my opinion.

So instead I ended up writing down some oil diffuser recipes for a good night’s sleep. ::chuckles:: I want to test those out and figure out which ones I like and which ones work…and which ones are just god-awful. Far more productive than writing about magick I’ll never do.

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I am really liking the Tarot Challenge. I debating sharing that here but ultimately decided against it. It was just another major step to get bogged down with and I feared that I would just drop it if it was too complicated. So instead, I am writing each day’s reading down in my Bullet Journal / Catch-All Journal and enjoying it. I’m using the Pathfinders Deck and I am really enjoying reconnecting with totem animals through it. And I LOVE the fact that the deck has so many non-standard totems included in it. It really broadens your horizons on the totem front, and forces me to learn new ones as well.

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I had CPR training today for work. Work is trying to get EVERY person on campus (Campus Leaders, like myself, plus all the aides as well) to be CPR and AED trained and certified. I haven’t been certified in a number of years, so it was definitely needed. And given that they’ve changed a few things since I was last certified, I’m glad to have the updated information. So now I can crush people’s chests and zap them with a defibrillator now. ::toothy grin::

And Head Boss Lady (Kelly) inquired how the rest of the day went yesterday with Shitty McCreepy Pants. I explained a few things I had to talk to him about and Kelly told me to write all of that down. She suggested that maybe I start keeping a work journal just about him. I don’t think she understands the amount of writing I would have to do. ::shakes her head:: So I’m thinking of getting a 3-ring binder just for him. That way I can easily type up all the insanity (because I type worlds faster than I write), and then I can just print it out and file it in the 3-ring binder. Plus, it gives me an excuse to go buy a 3-ring binder. ::grins and winks:: Yeah, yeah, I’m addicted to office supplies.

So now, I have to write up all THAT shit. And then print out ALL of the stuffs I have written up about Shitty McCreepy Pants (which, by the way, it totally his new official name here). And then I get to put it all in my binder. ::sighs:: When I said I enjoy documentation and writing....this is sooooo NOT what I had in mind, dammit! Why do the gods listen to those remarks, but totally ignore my desires to win the fucking lottery?!?!?!

Thankful Thursday

written: October 6th

First up, the Inner Witch October Photo-Challenge:

Day 6: Incense

This is the Artemis incense created by the super talented and AMAZINGLY awesome Harvest Moon Haven. This is the incense that I use in my daily prayers to Artemis revolving around our canine companions (both alive and deceased). It’s one of my all time favorite scents.

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I am thankful…
1. a four day weekend this weekend. I have Friday and Monday off and I’m hoping to really relax and take it easy.
2. amazing rice krispy treat I purchased at work through our new vending machine. Ok, so I bought TWO of them today, but seriously they are amazing.
3. rewatching Spartacus on Netflix.
4. learning to speak up more and be more direct in my communications with my staff.
5. that my bosses are working with me to resolve the issues with Super Shitty Creepy Aide.
6. still maintaining A’s in both classes.
7. good health…especially the shit care I’ve been giving myself due to stress and exhaustion (due to work and school work).
8. watching Gotham: Season 2 with the husband each night.
9. still maintaining my daily practice of anointing my forehead (3rd eye) and setting my intentions for the day before I go to work. I swear that is the only reason I have not gone on a murderous rampage....yet.
10. made the first payment towards the drum Brandy has for me. She’ll be painting on a design on it that both of us and one of my wolf spirits all agreed on. ::grins::