Category: Uncategorized

  • Writing Challenge – Day 22

    Writing Challenge – Day 22

    Day 22: Put your music on shuffle and post the first ten songs.

    1. Purgatory Dance Party – Polkadot Cadaver
    2. Little Sister – Jewel
    3. Lieee – Tori Amos
    4. Dead Heaven – Gary Numan
    5. Snow-Hen of Austerlitz – Rasputina
    6. Ever Dream – Nightwish
    7. Depraved Uncut – Tartan Terrors
    8. Wonderboy – Tenacious D
    9. Sacred Stones of Stonehenge – Kellianna
    10. Do It With A Rockstar – Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra

     

    I have eclectic taste in music. There were also about 5 tracks that were from audiobooks, but I did not post those. They included books by David Sedaris, Terry Pratchett, Patti Smith, Henry David Thoreau, Kim Harrison, and Anne Rice. I am a fairly eclectic reader too.

    Also, I have tickets to see Rasputina in August, and before the show we are going to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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    Link to photo home

     

  • Writing Challenge – Day 21

    Day 21: What three lessons do you want your children to learn from you?

    First off, I feel like it is important for me to state for the record that my husband and I are childfree by choice. Neither of us has a particular drive to be a parent, and the idea of having children because we feel societal pressure to do so just seems like such a bad idea. However, this being said, we are a fabulous aunt and uncle. So…I am going to approach this as what lessons do I want my Nieces and Nephews to learn from me. Or really any children I encounter in my life.

    1. Different is not bad – My nieces (my nephew is 2 so he is not quite as aware) know that I am a witch. They have come to my house to celebrate sabbats. We talk openly about this. We have also had open conversations about LGBTQIA issues, other religions, racial issues, and feminist issues. This is partially because my brother and sister-in-law are amazing and open themselves, and do not have a problem at all with me discussing heavy issues with their children. That is amazing and I feel like I am helping shape these fabulous, open, non-judgemental kids.
    2. Honesty is the best policy – I do not like to be lied to, who does. So don’t do it. Just be honest with me.
    3. I am here to talk about anything. – No judgement from me. Come talk to me about sex, drugs, drinking, being a republican, whatever. I am not here to judge, just to listen and advise if I can, support if I can not.

    That is the big important stuff. I hope my nieces and nephews take this much from me if nothing else.

  • Beltane Blessings – A Witchy Post

    Beltane Blessings – A Witchy Post

    It is Beltane and in honor of the day I am using a Tarot Spread from Llewellyn called the May Queen.

    May Queen

    May is a time of fertility and high spirits. By Beltane, the dark time of the year is a distant memory and the possibilities of life seem sweet. Use the May Queen spread to regain or confirm a sense of abundance and safety. If you have a specific question in mind, ask it as you shuffle the cards. Shuffle the cards and place them in positions one through five, as shown.

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    Position 1: Safety. Emotional security. What you need to feel safe. Where are you secure in yourself? A seemingly negative card describes a situation that needs your focused attention. Work with the energy of that card to produce feelings of safety.

    Position 2: Abundance. Feelings of plenty. Abundance may encompass monetary prosperity, but it also describes the emotional breadth of your life that is full and sweet. A challenging card directs you to constricted energy flow; by releasing the block of a challenging card, emotional abundance will follow.

    Position 3: Regeneration. Exploring the possibilities. The bold action needed to grow and flourish. A challenging card will show you the block that keeps you from your heart’s desire.

    Position 4: Love. Emotions and relationships. All forms of love, from friendship to sexual passion. Only you know your heart. Look at the suit of the card: what does it tell you about your life right now? (Wands = passion or anger; Cups = love or friendship; Swords = loving the intellect, heartache, or painful decisions; Pentacles = sensuality, the body, or the value you place on love; Court Cards = personal characteristics in your relationships; Major Arcana cards = the big picture, karma, or the spiritual aspects of your relationships.)

    Position 5: The Future. The present conceivable outcome based on the flow of cards one through four. What story do the cards tell? The lessons to be learned and the potential for growth. How does position three, regeneration, relate to the future?

    1. Safety: Page of Wands (Reversed) – My place of safety is within my creativity, but I can also use it as a crutch and an excuse. I also have a bad habit of procrastinating which is always pushing the limit of what I am capable of doing. I need to be smart and do my best work and best thinking early when I am at my highest self and most creative.
    2. Abundance: King of Cups – My abundance lies in my creativity. If I learned nothing else from my mother it was how to make something out of nothing. I need to make the most of this.
    3. Regeneration: Five of Cups (Reversed) – I need to make the most of new friendships and relationships. And also keep myself open to the return of old relationships. Or, be social, Betsy!
    4. Love: Four of Pentacles – Per the chart above I feel stable, and somewhat possessive of my love, which is true. I am in love with our love, in all it’s aspects.
    5. The Future: XX Judgement – I am coming to a time of renewal and new beginnings. It is time for a good hard look at myself, and some decisions about where I am heading. It is time to start a new part of my journey.

    It sounds like my future is auspicious. I am working on a Job spell, so hopefully much of the tarot reading is an omen toward that. I hope you have a beautiful Beltane.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 20

    Day 20: Post about three celebrity crushes.

    My celebrity crushes are always a little odd. And usually they exist because a person is funny. I love people who can make me laugh.

    1. Greg Proops – I have loved him since Whose Line Is It Anyway? the original British version. His podcast The Smartest Man in The World is by far one of my favorites, and I started listening fairly early on. I am working on getting to meet him, even if it means a trip to California. If you are unfamiliar with him it is worth it to check him out. I also find myself dropping proopisms constantly.
      SMITW-Planet
      Greg’s Website
    2. Ron Funches – Another comedian, I found him when he performed live on the brief television version of The Nerdist. Immediately I was hooked. He has since been on @Midnight multiple times, and on the shows Undateable and Powerless. And I have tickets to see him perform in July!!
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      Ron’s Website
    3. Amanda Palmer – I have loved Amanda Palmer for a long time. It began with the Dresden Dolls, and continued through her solo albums, and her book, and still I love her. I have met her multiple times. I have introduced multiple people to her music. She still speaks directly to me. Her Ukulele Anthem is inspiring and beautiful and I am linking a version below. She is also married to one of my all time favorite authors, so… Amanda Palmer – Ukulele Anthem
      Amanda-Palmer-by-Allan-Amato
      Amanda’s Website
  • Writing Challenge – Day 19

    Writing Challenge – Day 19

    Day 19: Discuss your first love.

    I am torn about this. Does this mean the first person I think I was in love with? Or the first person I know I was in love with?

    I have had several relationships in my life, however I do not believe that any of them were “love”. Only one was was longer than a year, and in many ways I just stayed in a relationship to prove that I could be in a relationship that lasted longer than a year, which sounds awful.

    In this light, my first actual love was my husband. Our coming together was a comedy of errors in many ways.  I actually met Seth’s brother, Chris, first. He came to work in my department at the bank I was working for at the time. We got along famously right away. One of the first things he said to me was “You are so happy. My brother would hate you.” I remember responding that I hoped I never met his brother then.

    I would meet his brother at a concert some months later, but just in passing. Then again, when my sister and I went to see a movie with Chris, his wife Niki (who had become my good friend), and Seth. We went to dinner first, and I thought Seth was charming, funny and I was definitely interested in getting to know him better. This was in January or February of 2007, and we would not be thrown together again until March.

    Niki and I’s birthdays are the 14th and 15th of March, so we held a joint birthday party, and Seth attended. Several weeks later was his birthday, and I was invited to his party where I pretended to be very drunk. I was sitting on the arm of the couch and I said to Seth that I was afraid I might fall. He said “If you fall I will catch you”. So I fell.

    After that I joined an RPG of Star Wars that Seth was DMing with Chris, Niki and occassionally our friend Jerry.  I had no real interest in the game, but wanted to see Seth more. Eventually I would gather the nerve to ask Seth out to a movie, and he told me no. I said okay,  and told Chris that I was not going to ask again so the ball was in Seth’s court. He would call me the next day on Chris’ phone and ask if I was still interested in seeing that movie. I said yes.

    Our first date was May 19, 2007. At the end of the night he kissed my hand, and my heart melted a little. A month later we finally got to have our second date, and he brought me 28 red roses. We stayed up late into the night talking. We talked about everything, and by the end of that night I knew that this was something special. Our first kiss would happen a few days after this, and that just furthered that feeling.

    By spring of 2008 we were moving into an apartment together. Spring of 2009 we were looking for houses to buy. We got engaged in the fall of 2010 and married in October of 2012.

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  • Writing Challenge – Day 18

    Writing Challenge – Day 18

    Day 18: Post 30 facts about yourself.

    1. I was born and raised in Newark, OH.
    2. My maiden name is Bailey.
    3. My maternal grandparents names were Crystalene Lucille and Alvin Leon.
    4. I have two Sisters; Krystie who is 8 years older than me, and Traci who is 10 years younger than me.
    5. I am 36.
    6. My husbands name is Seth.
    7. We have been married for 5 years October 6.
    8. We have been a couple for 10 years May 19.
    9. I have an eleven year old Chihuahua named Zoe.
    10. And an eight year old domestic long haired cat named Samhain (Sam).
    11. I am a high-soprano.
    12. I had two poems published as a teen.
    13. I currently have a 3.75 gpa in college.
    14. I am an English/ Creative Writing Major.
    15. I live in a house that is over a hundred years old (built in 1910)
    16. I am an avid audiobook reader.
    17. I listen to 7 podcasts regularly.
    18. I have been a practicing witch since I was 16.
    19. I consider myself an eclectic cottage art witch.
    20. I am an on/off bellydancer.
    21. I love to dance.
    22. I have 12 piercings and four tattoos.
    23. I used to be a singer for the Country Music Fellowship Organization.
    24. I can sew well, and make viking garb for my husband and I.
    25. We do reenactments as vikings.
    26. I do a variety of art and crafts.
    27. I collect hats.
    28. I own two guitars, but I cannot play them.
    29. I cannot read sheet music.
    30. Halloween is my favorite holiday.

     

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  • Writing Challenge – Day 17

    Day 17: Post about your zodiac sign, and whether or not it fits you.

    Sun sign: Pisces: February 18 – March 20

    Strengths: Compassionate, artistic, intuitive, gentle, wise, musical

    Weaknesses: Fearful, overly trusting, sad, desire to escape reality, can be a victim or a martyr

    I have always felt that I am a pretty accurate representation of what a Pisces is supposed to be for good or for ill. As I have learned more about astrology I know that I am a pretty good amalgam of my sign mixture: Pisces Sun, Cancer Moon, and Aquarius Rising. The Pisces makes me creative, tending toward escapist, intuitive, and artistic. The Cancer makes me sensitive, homebody, with intuition, and deep ties to family. The Aquarius makes me odd, attracted to the offbeat, curious, creative and unaffected by wealth or status. So, I am ridiculously sensitive, intuitive, creative, a little odd, and interested in everybody and everything. I like to be alone, but love to be out with people. I am honest, and expect honesty from others. In many ways I am a giant juxtaposition of myself. And I am happy to be so. 

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  • Writing Challenge – Day 30

    Writing Challenge – Day 30

    Day 30: Your highs and lows for the month.

    These 30+ days have been full of ups and downs, highs and lows. I had pneumonia which was a solid low, and honestly I still don’t feel fantastic.

    We are trying to get through a refinance, and everything that is involved with that. As part of that we are going through a massive purge, which is both hard and freeing. We seriously have so much stuff. It is ridiculous.

    I am also looking into getting LASIK. My eyes are no longer fond of contacts, and there are some times when glasses just do not work. I am hoping to schedule that for June if all goes well.

    I ended my last class with an A and I am heading into my next class which involves writing a short story, so this should be fun.

    I also had a girls night with my friends aka the Lady Gang where we dressed like flappers and went to a couple of local speakeasy style bars/ gin joints. It was amazing and ridiculously fun. We were even featured on the facebook page of one of the restaurants, The Light of Seven Matchsticks.

    We also got to see a show by one of Columbus’ most prolific and amazing drag queens, Nina West. She was presenting Ohana, which was a show about togetherness and having each others back, and making it through in a time when the world seems like it is falling apart. It was so good, and made me cry a couple of times.

    I am working on coming up with a plan for this blog now that 30 days of writing challenges and introduction is complete. I hope you will stick around to see how/ where this goes.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 16

    Writing Challenge – Day 16

    Day 16: Something that you miss.

    For the majority of my youth my mother and I lived with my maternal grandparents. Grandma passed away when I was in high school, in 1996 I think, and Grandpa passed in 2001. I still miss them both terribly.

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    My Grandmother was a retired teacher. She was fun, open, supportive, and loving. She had trouble sleeping and could somehow rearrange the furniture in the middle of the night without waking any of us up. She saw the best in everyone. She never met a stranger; I remember her once walking up to a random woman in the mall, and the woman and her crying together, because the woman needed someone to talk to. My grandmother was a good christian who attended church at least every Sunday, and taught Sunday school. She was a survivor.

    My Grandfather lied about his age in order to enroll in the Navy early. He was a radioman on several different ships. He had several tattoos, that he was not particularly proud of. He once got drunk and tried to walk back to the ship, so right off the end of a pier. He was funny. He loved Westerns. He taught me how to use power tools, because he thought it would be good for me to know. He wore socks with sandals. He was a shameless flirt.

    They shaped my life in innumerable ways, and I miss them every day.

     

     

  • Writing Challenge – Day 15

    Writing Challenge – Day 15

    Day 15: Bullet point your whole day

    • Wake up at 4:45am
    • Use the bathroom and try to wake up
    • Go downstairs to sit on couch with my husband
    • Do my morning tarot draw
    • Post it on Instagram
    • Kiss my husband goodbye
    • Get my clothes ready
    • Take a shower
    • Get dressed
    • Brush my Teeth
    • Wash my face
    • Put on makeup
    • Dry my hair
    • Gather my stuff for work
    • Feed the pets
    • Drive to work
    • Arrive at work
    • Get to Desk
    • Check Email
    • Work
    • Eat Lunch
    • ASL class at noon
    • Work
    • Pack up stuff
    • Walk to Car
    • Drive to Nail Salon (talk to loan officer briefly on the way)
    • Get nails done
    • Drive home
    • Eat Dinner
    • Work on assignments for school
    • Play on computer a bit
    • Watch an episode of Deadwood
    • Go to bed at 10pm
    Nails
    Beltane orange and gold nails – They just felt right.