It's alive

Oh my goodness Elvis lives. At lest his head does. We got them in at work and I kid you not this thing makes me cringe. This is a quote from another website talking about it


"This very realistic animatronic lifesize bust not only sings and talks to you, but looks just like Elvis Presley, with the trademark sideburns, pompadour, facial tics and the '68 Comeback Special leather jacket. This robotic "King of Rock and Roll" sings 8 classic songs, speaks 37 monologues where he talks about his life and career and even has a mode where you can sing a duet with him. The best feature though is definitely the Alive mode, where Elvis uses sensors to detect and track your movement while making some of his famous remarks. This thing is definitely the ultimate cool gift for any Elvis fan, but it just may be the creepiest thing I have seen."

All I have to say is someone please tell Elvis to leave the building!

strange happenings

OK I know I don't live in the best of neighborhood but this is ridiculous. Someone stole TWO of the air conditioner units from the building my ex husband lives in. Yep you read it right. They stole them Someone drove out back, unhooked TWO units, loaded them up and drove away while everyone was sleeping. Who steals air conditioners in the winter? Weird!

On the light side

Notice to Your Pets... To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats,

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.
Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry
about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to
ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If
by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get
your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit
through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's
butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1. They live here. You don't.

2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the
furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture. )

3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter
who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3 Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends.
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a "gazillion" dollars for college.

And finally,
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children !

Black Friday

I have to be at work at 5:30 AM, we open at 6. So does this local Best Buy. This was taken at 8:30 PM TONIGHT, Almost TEN hours before the doors open. Yes those people are camping out. I hope the mall is not this bad, but I have a feeling it will be.
Goddess help me. Someone just shoot me now. PLEASE

Happy Thanksgiving

Have You Been Fed Today?

May your day be filled with blessings

Lost

Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. In case your wondering where I am I haven't forgot anyone. It's just that I am on the retail highway to hell. Working the holiday season is a real pain in the butt. We are already opening late hours and I have had to work past 10 several times the last few weeks, including a midnight the other day. I've also had my grandson to spend the night a several times so I have been busy with him. I spent the day with him and my daughter last week, and while I was there did some laundry. Look what a good little helper I had. At lest he makes me smile amidst all the craziness.
Anyway I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving on Thurs. I will post again soon.

Busted

Now I know why I have cat hair on all my clothes.

BUSTED!

Over the hill.

My husband turned 50 today. Welcome to the over the hill gang honey!

Walking

I always say I feel like I am running around in circles, so I thought I might as well walk one. This is the labyrith at the Edgar Cayce Center in Virginia Beach




Walking A Labyrith

A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that represents wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. It looks like a maze but is not. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has no dead-ends. You cannot get lost. You just follow the path to the center and out again. You walk a labyrinth to learn its lessons. The labyrinth symbolizes a transformative journey to your own center and back out into the world. Labyrinths occur in all cultures and have long been used as tools for meditation, centering, and healing.

Labyrinths bring people together on the common path of life. Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. When most people hear of a labyrinth, they think of a maze. A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, and blind alleys. It is a left brain task that requires logical thinking and analysis to find the correct path. A labyrinth is a rightbrain task involving intuition, creativity, imagery, and the search for possibility. A labyrinth has only one path. The way in is the way out. You cannot get lost
even though you may feel lost. The path leads you on a circuitous route to the
center and out again. It slows you down and helps you become centered. With a
maze many choices are required and an active mind is necessary. For a labyrinth
a receptive mindset is required. There is only one choice to be made. It is to
enter or not. The choice is whether or not you will walk an inner path towards
healing, health, and wholeness.


Brief Guide to Walking the Labyrinth

There is no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth, since it is an activity that becomes a metaphor for your own spiritual journey in life. Some people walk with the intention to address an issue in their lives, others to pray and meditate. It is helpful to pause before you enter to center your thoughts on your intention.

Walk between the lines of the circuit, being aware that you are sharing the labyrinth with others. You may pass other walkers or let them step around you, whichever is easiest.

When you reach the center you have entered the most sacred space in the labyrinth. Allow yourself time to contemplate what it means for you to be there; honor this space in your life. The center is a place to pause, reflect and receive insight.

Walking the path back out of the labyrinth is a time for deep reflection and a chance to consider what it might mean for your daily living. For many, it is the most fruitful part of the walk. It can lead to action and renewal.

wise woman

Ruth over at Journal of a Wise Woman is starting a Wise Woman Circle. There is a small monthly fee involved, but it looks like it might be worth the investment. Check it out for yourself.

Neat little page

I don't usually endorse one website over another that sells things, but I found this page today while surfing and wanted to share.
Take a look at these Story Beads.

Story beads are "non-denominational prayer and meditation beads for healing, spiritual growth, and telling your own story" (quote from website itself)

I don't bead myself, so buying something like this interest me. I really like the way the artist gives an example of how to use the beads in our daily life. Check them out.

Thinking Ahead

Can you believe the holidays are here already. Just two short weeks until Thanksgiving, and then a month later Santa comes. In our home we celebrate both Yule and Christmas. For those of you who don't know, yule is also known as The Winter Solstice. It is historically known as Midwinter, and occurs around December 21 or 22 each year in the Northern hemisphere, and June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. It occurs on the shortest day or longest night of the year, marking the astronomical beginning of winter. Worldwide, interpretation of the event varies from culture to culture, but most hold a recognition of rebirth, involving festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations.

One of the customs of Yule is the buring of a Yule Log. The custom, which dates back to the XIIth century, was known in most Europeans countries, notably in France and in Italy where the Yule log was called a ceppo. This tradition persisted in Quebec as it did in France up until the last quarter of the XIXth century. Its disappearance coincides with that of great hearths which were gradually replaced by cast-iron stoves. The great log was thus replaced by a smaller one, often embellished with candles and greenery, placed in the centre of the table as a Christmas decoration.

Today, the Yule log has become a traditional pastry, a delicious cake roll, smothered in coffee or chocolate-flavoured icing and decorated with sugared holly leaves and roses.




Yule Log

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream Filling:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup 10x sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder (optional)
Chocolate Frosting:
3 squares unsweetened chocolate OR
9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa + 3 tablespoons margarine or butter
3 tablespoons butter (if using cocoa-will total 6 tablespoons butter)
4 cups 10x sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla


Beat eggs until thick. Gradually beat in sugar and then slowly blend the water and vanilla in. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Slowly add to egg mixture, blending until smooth. Pour into 15x10 jelly roll pan lined with foil. (You can also use a cookie sheet with a raised edge. I bring the foil up about 1 inch all around the edge of the pan.) The cake batter is thick and airy. Spread it evenly over the pan. (The cake is thin and like a sponge cake.) Bake in a 375 degree oven 12-15 minutes. Loosen edges of foil and turn out onto a towel sprinkled with sifted 10x sugar. Remove foil-you may have to pry the corners a little from the edges of the cake. Roll the cake in the towel from the narrow end. It will only roll two times. Let sit in towel until completely cool. Work rather quickly here. The idea is to get the cake rolled up in the towel while it is still hot and pliable. When cool-unroll cake and place on a serving platter. Spread with sweetened whipped cream and then re-roll. It will rather flop back into a rolled shape. Now spread the roll with the chocolate icing. Draw the tongs of a fork along the length of the frosted log to resemble bark. Decorate the edge of the log on the plate with cherries and lemon leaves or sprigs of holly. Cream filling: Combine heavy cream, 10x sugar and instant coffee powder. Whip until thick enough to spread. Chocolate Frosting: Melt unsweetened chocolate. (or unsweetened cocoa and margarine) Mix sugar, salt, milk and vanilla. Add chocolate and blend well. Let stand, stirring occasionally until spreading consistency. To spread frosting, dip knife or narrow spatula in hot water.

Things I learned today

Look what I learned while suring the net.



In Sweden, Easter week begins with a candy hunt that is very similar to Halloween trick-or-treating. Children dress up as påskkärringar, or Easter witches, with headscarves and long skirts, and faces painted with red cheeks and freckles. They go door to door wishing people happy Easter, and collecting candy and small change in copper kettles in exchange for a drawing or a song. Although the practice of dressing up in costumes began fairly recently (in the last 200 years), the association between witches and Easter began much earlier. It was believed that on Maundy Thursday, witches flew off to the mythical Blåkulla--blue mountain--to meet with the devil before church on Good Friday.



In some species of sharks, the embryos eat one another in the womb. This is a classic example of "survival of the fittest." In the group of sharks known as sand tigers, the females typically produce six to eight embryos in each of their two oviducts. The biggest and strongest of these will kill and eat its weaker siblings, leaving one "supershark" in each oviduct that survives to birth.



In 1663 the European settlers experienced their first earthquake in America



Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in 1895. The idea for them came from an American, Ralph E. Morris. The new lights proved safer than the traditional candles.


In 2006 - Mariesa Weber, a 5'3" Florida woman, fell behind a 6' tall bookcase in her family's home and suffocated. She was not discovered for 11 days; her family thought she had been kidnapped.

Why Goddess Made Big Girls

Mother" I began, with my face hung down.
She answered back "Why the frown?"

"Why, may I ask did You make me this way?"
"What way is that? What are you trying to say?"

"My body, Mother, my face, it's too square,
They are the wrong color, my eyes and my hair.
My hips are too wide, my belly too round.
When I look at my feet, I can't see the ground.
My thighs are so thick, my feet, they stick out.
My fingers my toes They are as big as a trout.
My eyes are too close, they're in the wrong place.
I'm loud sometimes, and bossy to boot,
Sometimes I wish I was just born a mute."

The Goddess, She just chuckled, as if it was funny,
"Dear Child, you will learn, that's more than plenty.
Your hair and your eyes, those things don't matter.
It's the size of your heart, and not if you get fatter.
You have the gifts that I've given to you.
To cheer up! Your friends when they're feeling blue.
You make people laugh and forget all their sorrows.
Those are the things that make more tomorrows.
Your children and family, I put in your care.
Those are the reasons I put you there.
You're smart and you're witty, people love you.
Why can't you seem to love yourself too?"

I thought a minute not sure what to say,
Then into my mind popped events of the day.
"They laugh at me, you know, people who see me,
They think it's funny, but it hurts, can't they see?
I've tried everything, to be as they say,
Small and thin, in a petite way."

The Goddess she looked at me, with a curious grin.
She then said with a smirk, "Who said thin was in?
I made you perfect the way that you are.
Those magazines and models, they take it too far.
I made you bigger, because that's who you are.
There's nothing small about you my child.
You are too Grande to fit those things they call "in."
To say you are Grande is still putting it mild.
You have a big heart, so full of love.
You have deep emotions, no one can deny.
You do things largely, everything with pride,
Your thoughts, your ideas, even the tears you cry."

"I made you big.
That is a fact.
I made you like Me.
Don't forget that.
You are too special to try to define
And even harder to ever confine."

~Author Unknown

Adjusting to the dark time of the year

*plesae note that I did not write this, Credit given at bottom of article*

Did you know that you can maximize your energy levels by adjusting your food and exercise to match the season? Now Autumn is in full swing, and it's chilly! It's a lot more work for your body to stay warm, but you can ease the process by focusing your diet on warm dishes using seasonal foods to give yourself that extra nutritional boost and exercising regularly to heat your body up! Adding pungent and spicy herbs can warm you up too: garlic, oregano, thyme, onions, cayenne, chili, curry, rosemary, basil etc...

Colds, congestion and constipation are pretty typical this time of year. We're too busy to rest and exercise as much as we need or we indulge on sweets during the holidays or all of the above! These conditions are simply signals from the body that you need to simplify and cleanse a bit. To balance out: rest, hydrate, exercise and eat plenty of seasonal produce, especially in soup our stew form. Even the seasonal fruit is cleansing for your system. Check your local farmer's market, but it's likely you'll find these seasonal foods available: cranberries, apples, pears, pomegranite, oranges, pumpkins, squashs, turnips, parsnips, beets, brussel sprouts, peppers, and sweet potatoes, garlic, and onions.

One way to lower your chances of coming down with a cold or the flu this season is to practice deep relaxation on a daily basis. Often relaxing deeply will give you an energy boost because the energy your muscles were using to stay tense is now directed back into the body system and available for you to repair damage, neutralize a "bug", or simply to recharge. The most simple at home technique for deep relaxation is to sit comfortably and breath slowly. Inhale for a count of four, pause briefly, and then exhale for a count of 8. Repeat for 5 or 10 minutes until you feel peaceful and calm. You can do this simple breathing exercise anytime and anyplace - while sitting in traffic, in a meeting, waiting in line, while on hold on the phone, when you first wake up, in bed to help you fall asleep, etc...

For many this time of year also means going to and leaving work happens in the dark. You might not be getting enough sunlight to regulate your body's rhythms so that you feel your best. If you can, expose your hands and face to the sun outside daily in the morning for 5-15 minutes to let your body know it's time to be alert, awake and energized. If you can't get outside, consider investing in a natural spectrum lap and give yourself a light treat every morning during breakfast for 5-15 minutes. The resulting alertness and focus is quite amazing!

Whether your schedule is busting at the seams, you don't want to leave the house, or the usual holiday stressors are looming on the horizon - the best thing you can do for yourself to float through the holidays with peace and bliss this fall is to make self-care a priority.
Schedule an appointment with yourself to relax and rejuvenate every day, or at the very least every week. And, keep this appointment with yourself like it's a date with someone important to you. (I hope you are important to you.) Taking this time out on a regular basis is the key to being energized, staying calm, and feeling good about all the decisions you have to make during the busy time of year - about what you eat, what you buy, how you spend your time, etc...

I recommend you pull out your calendar right now and set aside your self-care appointments before the holiday invitations start coming in. The trick is to honor these appointments with yourself by saying no to invitations that conflict, or if you can't or don't want to say no to an important event, rescheduling your self-care appointment to another time that day or day that week. The key is making self-care a priority and sticking with your commitment to relax and rejuvenate.
By Artemisia

About the Author-- Artemisia is a High Priestess of the Order of the White Moon. She is one of the co-founders of the branch sisterhood of the Order - Sisters in Celebration. She can be reached at artemisia333@.... She lives and works in the Boston area as a Reiki & Wellness practitioner. http://www.sistersincelebration.org

Halloween 07

I hope everyone had a nice Halloween. I wanted to share mine with you.
Enjoy

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com