Pagan Blog Project 2014

I just joined the 2014 Pagan Blog Project. I've participated in the previous 2 years but I have never gotten through the entire alphabet. This year I WILL do better than I did in the previous years and I hope to post each week. This has been a very informative project with lots of different viewpoints, experience levels and personalities shining through. I am so glad I am able to be a part of it.

The Last Days of 2013

I can not believe that tomorrow is the last day of 2013! I can't say that I am sorry to see this year end as it has been pretty rough on so many people I know. I am spending the last couple of days of the year creating in my studio. I have been testing out some of the cool things I have found on Pinterest and working on a few other projects. It has been a nice way to end the year.

The first project I started today was one I found on Pinterest. It involves changing an old picture frame into a nice chalk board. I scored a great frame at my local Goodwill store and I had a quart of chalkboard paint sitting around the house. I've had that paint for a very long time, way before it became the in thing! So far, with regards to the chalkboard project the hardest thing to find is...chalk!

I'm also working on some ritual kits for my Etsy shop. I hope to have some of them in stock by Jan 1. I am currently working on Ritual kits for Imbolc and Ostara as well as a kit for a House Blessing.

The third project I am working on is a Kitchen Witch for my cousin. Her head is sculpted and baked. Tomorrow I'll be sculpting her hands and feet and painting her face. I am really excited about this project. It is for my lovely cousin who just recently got married. She and I are kindred spirits and both of us had a very special relationship with our grandfather. When he passed away I received a box full of his things from his "shop". My grandfather made fishing lures, not flies, he made lures for deep sea and ocean fishing and they were well known in lower Delaware during the 1970's & 80's! People came from all over the area to buy lures from Big Charlie. Well I inherited his molds, tools, and materials including buck tails, buttons, thread and feathers - who knew fish liked that stuff? Anyway, my cousin has no idea that I have this box full of treasures but I will be incorporating several of the things that belonged to our grandfather into her Kitchen Witch. I will post progress pictures as I have them.

Tomorrow night I'll be celebrating at home with family and friends, drinking champagne, eating chips and dip and playing silly games. I think that will be a great way to ring in the new year!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate this day. I hope everyone's day is filled with laughter and love!

Grow Your Blog - A Meet and Greet Blog Party

I just signed up for the Grow Your Blog meet and greet scheduled for January 25th of 2014. This blog party is being hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full. It sounds like a great way to explore other blogs and introduce people to mine! I am looking forward to this event. Check back on the 25th for some information about me and the blog as well as a fun give-away!

Blessed Yule and Happy Winter Solstice!

I hope you have a blessed Yule and Happy Winter Solstice, I am thrilled to be welcoming back the sun and look forward to longer days! 

I finally have some time off so I'll be posting more soon (yay!) and I'll be starting the new year off with a re-post of my Witchy Green Cleaning Series with an added post that I missed last year on a home made scouring powder. 

Have a lovely day today and if you celebrate Christmas have a merry Christmas on Wednesday!

Christmas Classic Dissed for Promoting Bullying?

Recently my boss shared something she heard on the radio about Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and how it sends the wrong message to children - seriously? She was upset that this individual was ruining the cherished holiday classic. Apparently the commentator was discussing the bullying message Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer depicts.

Well, I guess you can look at it that way if you want to. Does Rudolph get bullied for being different? Certainly. Does this cause him discomfort? Absolutely! Does he let it defeat him - for a little while, yes he does, however, I believe the real message that this show provides is that our differences are what make us who we are and that the opinions of others are not as important as what we think of ourselves.

I believe that most children empathize with Rudolph and ultimately Rudolph not only helps Santa and saves Christmas... he gets the girl! He used his strength - his glowing red nose- to the best of his ability and managed to do what all the other reindeer were unable to do. He was the hero.

How many heroes are there among us that have yet to realize their full potential because they let the opinions of others keep them from using all that they have? Maybe they should re-watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and see that our differences are what makes us strong!

On a more serious note, I wish there was a way to end bullying, at all levels, but I don't see that ever happening. Our community recently made the news when a child opened fire at his middle school, killing a teacher and wounding two students before turning the gun on himself. It was horrific and devastating to the families, the school and to our community. I strongly suspect (based on comments from some individuals I know who are at the school) that bullying was a factor and my heart breaks for not only the teacher who tried to talk the child down (and his family), but for the two children shot as well as for the shooter and his family. Yes I have taken some heat for that but the child who committed this atrocity is just as much a victim as the others. We need to teach our children how to respond to bullies, we need to give all children (also many adults) tools to deal with conflict and we need to not only listen to their words but to their actions. I think Rudolph could be a great conversation starter for this topic.

Just saying...

The Weather Outside is Frightful...and a Fitness Update

This past weekend this is what my front yard looked like. I actually ventured out in this to make sure I got to my Weight Watchers meeting! Why would I shovel the driveway and venture out on the icy roads just to see how much I weigh you ask, well after a very long time I FINALLY broke through my laziness induced plateau and am now less than 15 pounds from my goal. I am under 160 for the first time in years and I really needed to have it recorded LOL

I realized how far I've come over the past two years and how great I feel. I managed to shovel our 3-car garage sized driveway and I barely broke a sweat - nice! I feel great and my clothes are getting looser - finally. It is amazing what happens when I eat right. I don't diet, that is a quick fix for a long term problem, I have learned how to eat and truly enjoy healthy foods and also how to enjoy other foods I love in moderation. I could no sooner give up wine than oxygen - just saying!

As the new year approaches I am thrilled that I am closer to a healthy weight, not an anorexic weight, just a healthy one! If you are planning on one of your New Year's resolutions to be to lose weight I highly recommend Weight Watchers, it is not a diet, it is something that you can live with no matter how crazy your life tends to be.

Cheers