Thankful Thursday

I am thankful…

1.       School is out for Winter Break.  We survived the past three days and now we are on break until January 4^th, thank goodness!

2.       Babysitting for the Robinsons today

3.       The ADORABLE little golden retriever puppy, Chloe, the Robinsons have – even if she’s got some needle-sharp teeth!

4.       Got approval on ONE of my classes (need to take two).  The other one’s full, so I’m working on getting into another class.

5.       Got all A’s this semester!  Woohoo!  This brings my overall GPA for my first year up to a 3.5.  now I just need to keep up the hard work and keep that GPA up. 

6.       The generosity of the Robinsons.  They pay me very well, feed me (and the kids) pizza anytime I babysit.  But this time around, they gave me extra money as a Christmas bonus AND also sent home a whole smoked turkey breast!  ::laughs::

7.       Lots of gifts from my students – it’s nice to know that I’m appreciated.

8.       The year is winding down.  I have no outside obligations, so I’m going to relax and rest and focus on myself.

9.       Cooking my awesome Venison Chili Cheese Dip for my aides and that it was a smash hit!  ::smiles::

10.   All the good things Hazel brought into my life and brought out in myself.  Sucks that friendship seems to have faded away.

Grades

Grades are FINALLY posted!
And guess who’s got a 4.0 for this semester????

This Wolfie right HERE!!!!!
::happy dance commences::

Brings my over all GPA up to a 3.5 for the two semesters.
I’ve submitted my request for the 2 classes for next semester. Hopefully I get the approval from the Higher Ups and can register for those asap.

If I do get approval, I’ll be taking INFO 5320 – Public Libraries and INFO 5295 – Preservation (first archival class).

December Full Moon Ritual

Ok, getting around to writing about the final full moon ritual of 2016. Woohoo!

So Full Moon was on the 14th....and I came home with a NASTY headache, so I pushed my ritual back to the 15th instead. One of the VERY few traditional laws I follow about ritual/ceremony/magick, is that you do NOT do it if you aren’t feeling well. Funky feeling = funky magick.

First up, altar by candle light:


Altar lit solely by candle flames make my lil heathen heart so giddy. Seriously, never gets old. And getting to sit in front of one and just bask in the magick? Just awesome.

Altar with the lights on:


Going left to right, starting at the top:
Galaxy Coyote (just adore her).
Athame.
Red seven-day candle for Sekhmet.
White candles in clear glass holders for the Full Moon.
Little green vial – Anoint Oil by Sage Goddess (seriously, LOVE it – though, I love her Muse oil better…I just haven’t been able to get my lil paws on a bottle of it yet).
Golden Sekhmet statue (gift years ago from Susan, an old friend that has since fallen off the face of the earth, sadly).
White selenite sphere (symbol of the Full Moon).
Altar pentacle with Midnight Maiden necklace by Luna Blue Boutique.
Orange seven-day candle for Sekhmet (originally a “Gratitude” candle by Sage Goddess).
Tumbled Galaxite stone (from Sage Goddess) that I utterly adore. I’ve been carrying it in my pocket for weeks now and love the feel of it in my hand.
The other white candle in clear glass holder for the Full Moon.
Three sacred feathers.
Incense burner with “Antique Sandalwood” incense by Oakheart Creations.

Sekhmet by candle light:


Post ritual selfie 01:


Post ritual selfie 02 (I couldn’t decide which one I liked better):


And a shot of Josey, resting her head on my ritual skirt:


Just two more rituals left in 2016 to be accomplished: Yule and my Tabula Rasa.

Thankful Sunday

I am thankful…

1.       Only three days left in the school year and then I’m off work until January 4^th.  Just gotta survive these three, last, CRAZY days and I’m golden.

2.       Great weekend at my Brother’s house.  We celebrated our family’s Christmas early as my brother and his family will be going to visit his in-laws.

3.       Mary surprised me again with a new fountain pen.  It’s a Levenger Facets (amethyst) with a Fine nib.  Now I’m just trying to figure out what ink to put in it and start using it.

4.       Having two journals to work in for the next few weeks.  One is a swap that I’m hosting with some journaling buddies.  The other is one that was started via some pen pals.

5.       Amazing box of homemade goodies from Angie for Christmas time.  She even included a baggie of treats for the pup!  ::smiles::  And Josey DEFINITELY approves!

6.       Two really nice, warm weather days, even if it totally crapped out yesterday.  We’re not even supposed to get above freezing today, and yet, Friday and Saturday we were up in the low 70s!

7.       Snail mail love.  I love receiving my postcards through Postcrossing.  I love the letters I get from my LetterMo pen pal.  And now I’ve added a few witch pen pals as well. 

8.       For warm house, awesome blankets, and little space heaters that work like mega-champs.

9.       Last full moon ritual of the year went very nicely.  I’ll write an entry about that soon hopefully.

10.   Damn good book my Mom suggested I read: Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome, by Reba Riley.  Such a good book thus far!

1 AM: Revisited

Let’s go with another 1 AM stream of conscious writing.

·         I fucking hate my aide, Amber.  And it’s taking everything in my power NOT to simply be vicious to her.  I need to suck it up and talk to her about correcting her deficiencies.  But right now I am (perversely) relishing the rage.

·         Depression is getting bad once more.  And it’s usually in the evenings.  Not sure what that’s all about, but it needs to knock that shit off.

·         Last Full Moon of the year is tonight.  Other than blessing my new necklace (Midnight Maiden), I don’t really have anything on the “Pagan Agenda”.

·         Hazel Nut has dropped off the radar once more.  This time, I will not be tumbling down that rabbit hole after her.  I need to write up a properly entry on all that and how Archangel Azrael ties into that.

·         I’ve decided my Tabula Rasa ritual will happen on December 29^th – the last new Moon of 2016.  Seems like a good day to spend in ritual, wiping the slate clean.

·         Actually got a lot of the tedious, yet necessary, work accomplished at the after school program – namely filing paperwork (about 2.5 weeks’ worth), shredding appropriate papers, updating Gail on our crafts, and doing a new seating chart.  Now I just need to re-do our reward system board and print out the Parent Letters about our Winter Break party and do Jess’s evaluation, and it’ll be COASTING time!  ::chuckles::

·         Hmmm, didn’t have a single headache today.  It’s been about a week since I could say that.  I typically have a low grade one at some point (usually multiple points) throughout the day.  I’ve made it a point to increase my water intake (though it’s nowhere near where it needs to be), but maybe the thyroid medicine IS helping as well.  Either way, it is a nice change of scenery.