Thanks, Mom & Dad...

(Picture of Mom dishing out food to all 6 of her kids (I'm the one with the hat, with the red hair peeking out, my back is to the camera)--this was taken in the 80s (1985?) at City Park across from the Zoo in Denver)



As is usual with me, I got into some "deep thoughts" this evening as I was doing laundry. First off, I hate doing laundry--not because it's housework but rather because I don't have my own washer and dryer (something I curse each time I do my laundry) so I am forced to use one in the basement of my apartment complex. Of course, I'm glad I don't have to lug my bags of dirty clothes across the street to a laundromat, however, I hate finding random, stiff hairs every now and again on top of the dryer downstairs. Eeew. But I digress.

So, back to my deep thinking---I have been writing all freaking day for my Women's Studies course and have been reading about women all over the world and our different circumstances. Frankly, it's depressing--and anyone who says otherwise has obviously not taken a Women's Studies course...we women have been through a lot! And our mother's mothers, man, did not have it easy.

(Picture of my sister, Jama & me (the baby with the red fuzz on her head and my Mom)

Anyway, it got me thinking about how grateful I am for my mom-- Really in awe of her in someways. Now, I've always been grateful for my mom (perhaps not as much as I should have been when I was growing up, but I was naive and stupid at that time...duh.) But now that I am "grown-up" (more in some ways than others) I am finally seeing the bigger picture. Heck, I am having a hard enough time supporting myself and "the animals" (how I lovingly refer to my cat and dog...I realize I am just two cats away from becoming a bit creepy---again, I digress)and at my age my mom already had two kids and husband to worry about. I don't know how she did it---and then to eventually have SIX KIDS....! How on earth did she manage to give us a Christmas every year? And not only that we all took some kind of music lesson (I took piano for 6 and flute for 4--although you would never know it now...lol). And of course we all had proper swimming lessons at the local pool. All this on two teacher's salaries--two teacher's in WYOMING--wow. My mom told me a few years ago that when I was quite small they were worried about possibly losing the house, but we never ever knew it. Grant it, I did have a lot of hand me downs, but I was the youngest of the girls and loved all the clothes I got from it. And yes, there were some things I didn't get to do simply because the funds were not there, but overall, I had a good childhood and got to do a lot of what I wanted. I will always be grateful for my parents giving me that in spite of not being very well-off. The irony of course is that my parents started making pretty decent money AFTER I moved out...something which irked me at the time, but now I think it is a reward for their efforts.



(Mom & Dad and Jama way back in the day)


Anyway, that's what I was thinking about today---I think we should all take a step back and say a prayer of gratitude for our Mom's and Dad's--they did their best and we're lucky they did.

Of Mishaps and Hauntings

A few things of note this week--well of interest I think.

Of Mishaps:


One evening this week I was preparing to meditate as I do each evening. Before I do so I usually light some candles and read my intention card that gives me some focus while I meditate. I usually light the candles first, read the card and then place it near the lighted candles and go off to a corner of my room to meditate with my mantra beads (mala). Well, this time I lit the candles, read my card and proceeded to put the card back by the candles, but at the same time a picture I have behind the candles (of an angel) fell down on top of the candles---I grabbed it in time so it did not catch on fire, but in the next moment my intention card fell down on the candles as well and caught on fire. I started blowing it out and finally it went out, but only after a small portion of it burned--

I'm not sure why I'm including this mishap in my blog, but it made me laugh--when you're trying to do something to better yourself and on a spiritual level and then something like a card catching on fire interrupts it--well, it just made me laugh.

It reminded me of the time when I was at Young Women's Camp ages ago and we were having a testimony meeting (a meeting where you can stand up and bear your testimony about the truthfulness of the church). Anyway, we all had candles during this meeting and some of the girls were holding Kleenexes under them to catch the drippings. Well, while some girl was bearing her testimony one of my table mate's candles was down to almost the wick and then suddenly the Kleenex underneath the candle caught on fire. In shock, she just placed the lit Kleenex (to our dismay) on the table we were sitting at. Well, the fire kept getting bigger and bigger--the Kleenex totally engulfed in flames at this point. Finally, my friend Kimball jumped up on the table and stamped it out--in the middle of someone's testimony. It was shocking and hilarious all in the same moment.

But I digress...

Now the Haunting portion:



Yesterday, as I was waiting in my apartment for my parents to arrive (we were going to my niece's and nephew's piano recital) I suddenly heard what can only be referred to as a "disembodied voice" that said, "Help me." It sounded like a woman in distress and was eerie to say the least. My first reaction was to walk outside into the hallway to see if one of my neighbors had said it and needed help. I even leaned against one of the apartment doors to see if I could hear anything. Nothing. So, my next thought was--it must be a ghost (don't laugh!) but seriously--I couldn't think of anything else. No t.v.'s were blasting, no radios were in the background--nothing else made sense to me. Besides, last week my puppy, Beau literally was barking at nothing--but only at one focused spot. He doesn't bark for no reason at all so I thought maybe he saw something I couldn't. So I "smudged" the room with some sage and said a prayer to clear the room of any spirits that were lingering behind (laugh, if you want, but I believe in this stuff) and then he stopped. My conclusion is maybe my apartment complex is haunted? Or was haunted? Anyway, I would be interested in hearing others "paranormal experiences"--just leave it on the comments below this post. I'm sure we'd all be interested--I know I am.

The Truth About Juice...

So this morning I am confronted, albeit kindly, by one of my co-workers in regards to the juice we stock at the office. We have been stocking cans of juice rather than the plastic bottles we used to have and my previously mentioned co-worker insists that the "new juice" is actually chocked full of sugar and carbs whereas the other juice we carried was not.

I start to think to myself..."I know the juice is the same...nothing is added to it" but I still follow him back to the beverages in the kitchen. We open the door to the plethora of drinks and he pulls out a grape juice. He immediatiatley points to the carbs, sugars, etc. listed on the bottle. I smile to myself and point at the ingredients list: Filtered Water, Grape Juice Concentrate, Absorbic Acid (Vitamin C) and some Calcium additive.

Obviously, it was just as I thought--same as the others--NO added sugar. It's surprising to me how little people know about nutrition and the contents of what they put in their own bodies. I was naive for awhile, too, but now make an effort to be aware of these things. Juice is full of natural sugars--sometimes more than soda...


So here is some information about the juices we drink--might as well give the kids a soda for all the sugar you're putting into them: (Click on the link!)

Juice Facts Website

Kind of shocking actually--but it's all fact. Something to think about.

Classic-

Do you ever come across pictures of people and just stop and stare. Not staring like, "Wow, he/she's hot" but more like , "Wow. I am speechless--this guy is really...um...unique."

This guy found me on facebook since we are both members of a group about Huna (Hawaiian Shamanism). Anyway, the guy writes really smart stuff on the subject, but the guy himself is definitely a character.

So...here it is...at the risk of him checking my blog and being aghast--here he is in all his glory:

This week has been long--I mean just long. And it's only Thursday!! And, I had Monday off! For those of you who DON'T work 9-5--count your blessings on that one.

I think part of the issue is the fact that there is one person in the office that really irks me. I am trying to figure out a way to just let it go--let it be, but haven't found my serenity yet--I am in the process of finding it I suppose. What does someone do in a situation like this and how do you not let that person get to you? I'm all ears.

I'm also a bit overwhelmed: I'm transferring to the University of Denver and have to finish a whole list of items for that. Private schools don't mess around--I have a 3 hour conference--THREE HOURS--next week with the adviser. I have to have letters of recommendation, an essay, and other nonsense. Don't misunderstand me--it will be worth it to graduate from such a prestigious school, but the work in the meantime is a bit annoying. Oh--and don't forget I am still IN school--at Metro State.

So, here is a rundown of what is on my list (above and beyond what I just mentioned) ... maybe I can get some sympathy?

To Do (2 Weeks deadline--roughly--some a bit longer time frame to complete):

-Find Monologue for Acting Class
-Memorize Monologue
-Perform said Monologue
-See Play
-Write 3-5 Page Analysis on Play
-Write 2 10- Page Papers for my Women's Studies Course
-Write 3-Page Paper on a Woman's Event for Women's Studies Course
-Answer 14 questions (each answer at least 1/2 page long) regarding sections of
Women's Studies text.
-Write 3-Page Essay for Native American History Course
-Have All credits from Metro State transferred to D.U.
-Have All credits from BYU transferred to D.U.
-Have All credits for UVU transferred to D.U.

Ick. I will get it done though! Seems a bit daunting, however.

In the meantime, I'm waiting on my website to be up and running for my new business and am finding that it takes effort to get people in the door--and Denver is a pretty forward-thinking city! However, I think with all Reiki practices--you have to gain trust and then they will come :-)

Send good vibes my way, though!

N

"Count Your Many Blessings Name Them One by One..."

Okay, so I've been in a weird mood this past weekend. Friday was my 28th birthday (please, no need to remind me how close I am to 30--I've heard it a zillion times already!) and on Monday we have the day off from work (our office takes off Veteran's Day but since it was a Tuesday we decided to have Monday be the day to celebrate it to offer everyone a 3 day weekend.)--so I headed to Cheyenne to "chill out" for a few days. It's nice to visit my parents because they essentially take care of me and I can relax. On Friday evening, though, I felt really sick so just went to bed early after I arrived in Chey-town. Saturday was fun--went shopping with Mom and got some cute stuff at Kohl's and Victoria's Secret. Still, went to bed pretty early. Beau has been having the time of his life, though! He loves the big back yard and was litterally running in circles as fast as he could for several minutes at a time. Unforutnatley, he keeps barking at Dad, but I'm working on it.

So, this brings us to Sunday--my last day for visitng as I plan on heading back this afternoon. For some reason I'm kind of down...not because I'm going back to Denver, but in general. In cases like that I think it's a good idea to "count your blessings" so I figured what a great blog entry--broadcast it to the world, right? So here are a few things I'm grateful for:

1. My loving parents--who love me in spite of me :-)
2. My sweet puppy, Beau. Oh, he can be naughty, but he looks cute doing it!
3. Aria--that kittie is a blessing from the heavens
4. A good job--even though it is not a dream job--it pays the bills and I get to work with great people.
5. My own apartment--shelter is a good thing to be grateful for!
6. Obama.
7. An education
8. Friends.
9. The ability to afford braces---perfect smile here I come!
10. Forgiveness--the ability to do it and for others who have forgiven me of my nonsense!
11. And of course--God. Don't know who he is or where he is, but I know he is there.

What are you grateful for today?

Fun little quiz for all you TWILIGHTERS

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Fun little 3 minute quiz...I'm really looking forward to the movie!

Woohoo!

OBAMA'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH


Okay, I have to be allowed a few seconds of, "I told you so" and all that now that Obama is the new President Elect. These are exciting times! It's sad that so many people can't seem to see all the good things this will bring to pass. And, on many of the issues that certain religions are a little bit crazy about (Namely gay marriage, abortion and stem-cell research), well Obama is surprisingly conservative and agreed with McCain on 2 of the 3--do your research, people!

LA TIMES ARTICLE ON SIMILARITIES

Obama isn't some crazy liberal--he has a lot of the same values as a lot of conservatives.

I am happy that he is Pro-Choice simply because I think that he as a man shouldn't even have a say with what a woman does to her own body (unless it was his wife or daughter). I think in this respect, women who are even AGAINST abortion, can be Pro-Choice and have a guiltless conscience. This is why: Women who are against it--can choose never to have one themselves and to help other women see what other options they have in those types of difficult situations--but should let other women, if need be, make the choice if it is right for them. I do believe the Bible says something about not judging lest ye be judged? To each her own--do what is right for you, but don't force that on someone else.

A few weeks ago, I overheard two women on the bus discussing this exact thing. They were BOTH Pro-Choice but one was adamantly against abortion for herself and her own, but believed women should have the right to choose. Something to think about. I think it's a matter or principle--don't take away people's rights. I think that is fair. There is a whole other side to this debate (can you tell I'm taking a Women's Studies course this semester?) but too involved and unnecessary for my blog. I just like to make people think outside the box.

Help Me Decide!

Hello everyone-

So today I had a professional photo shoot to get a head shot for my Reiki website---to show a more professional image. Well, I'm only going to have one of the pictures on my Reiki website, but have to choose from over 30 pictures we decided looked good to keep (at the studio earlier today.

This is where YOU come in---click on the link below and write down the image number underneath the photo you think looks the best but AND would be appealing on a holistic service website---that would make you want to use that person's services.

These are NOT touched-up yet, but will be after I decide. Nothing major ---just softening of lines and brightening the eyes. I also have this weird thing where when I smile a certain way or pucker my lips these not flattering lines show up on my face---so those would be softened a bit.

Okay--now click on the link and add your comment with the picture number! Thanks!

PICTURES LINK