RIP Michael Jackson

This is my all time FAV Michael Jackson song.



Makes me feel kinda old lol (For the record Im only 33, I would just like that noted.)

This picture says it all....

This man was protesting in favor of gay marriage. I ♥ him.
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25 ways to live a better life

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to __________ today.’
5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation.It provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
10. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
11. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum,they appear and fade away, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the negativity away.
14. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
15. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
16. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
17. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
18. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
19. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
20. What other people think of you is none of your business.( This one is my favorite)
    
21. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
22. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
23. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
24. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for _______. Today I accomplished ____.
25. Breathe.
    

Water conservation facts and tips

It may be hard to believe but we are running out of water.Ok yes I know 70% of the earths surface is water.But that doesnt change the fact that water, usable by us, is dwindling( read up on snowpack).And dont even get me started on whats in our drinking water.ANYWAY here are a few facts and tips for saving water.

• A running faucet uses as much as 3-5 gallons of water for every minute its on.
• You waste 5 or more gallons of water if you leave the tap running while you brush your teeth.
• Washing a normal size load of dishes(whats that?) with the tap running can waste as much as 30 gallons of water.
• If you wash your car at home the average amount of water that runs through your hose is 115 gallons.Washing it at a self service car wash uses on average 5-10 gallons...a savings of 100 gallons of water!!
  

But there are a few things you can do!

• If you just wet and rinse your toothbrush while brushing you only use 1/2 gallon of water.This can save you up to 9 gallons each and every time you brush!
  
• If you get a stop flow valve on your sink faucet and use it while washing dishes you can save up to 20 gallons of water each and every time you do a load.( a 'normal' sized load that is,unlike my monster loads)
  
• For the ladies: Do not shave you legs in the shower.It takes time and wastes water.Fill up the tub with just enough water to shave in and do it there.Is it a pain in the ass? Sure.But you want to do the right thing dontcha??? lol

• If you use a kettle for tea,hot chocolate or instant coffee ONLY put in the amount you intend to use.Fill your mug to the top and pour into the kettle,adjusting for the small amount that will turn to steam.The rest is just waste and will be evaporated, for nothing.

These are such small actions that they shouldn't be to hard to do.Remember that every saved drop helps.

Squirrel pic of the day

He's a lil chunky thing huh?

One of the cutest things I have ever seen!!!!!

My personal path to Paganism

I have just recently started to consider myself a pagan.I have had the same basic views throughout my whole life, I just didn't put a title to it.I have gone through phases in my life where I strongly searched out meaning and answers to my own spiritual questions, but they never really went anywhere.My family never discussed religion, ever.We never went to church.My mother is either agnostic or atheist, depending on the day you ask.She just doesn't care one way or the other.So I was all alone seeking out my own spiritual path.Around the age of 22 I read the entire bible, both the King James version and the N.I.V.It took me about a year and I must admit some of the King James version I just didn't get. I skipped over much of The Chronicles since it read like the phone book to me, and I would never remember 1/100 of the names there.But I understood the bulk of the bible, it just didn't mean anything to me.The stories were nice ( sometimes ) and I got what they were getting at.And I will even admit for a short time I thought I could get personal meaning out of it.I just had alot of spiritual energy at the time and no real outlet for it, so I applied it there.That lasted almost 2 yrs.I was pretty happy at the time so I understand the 'jesus high' people get off of Christianity a little bit.But to me it was blind irrational joy.I didnt have to worry about anything because I had god.If I did something wrong it was ok if no one else forgave me, because god did.Looking back I realize that I never believed any of it, I just went with it because I thought I was supposed to.It just didnt add up to me, but I wanted to believe in something.Anything.Even if I didnt feel it.I never went to church much and have gone maybe a handful or two of times .So even back then I was solitary in my spiritual beliefs.But as far back as I can remember I have always been drawn to and done things that would be considered paganistic. Even as young as 11 or 12.I remember wanting to stop someone from 'being mean' to me,or something along those lines, and so I drew a picture of them and folded it up a certain number of times , wrapped it with string, put it in a bowl of water and then I said something that Im sure included 'hocus pocus' and watched as the marker bled out of the picture and into the water.I threw the water outside but I don't remember what I did with the picture.I have always read alot, so I'm sure I must have gotten the notion to do that from my own childish understanding of some book I read.I read alot of stuff back then that was NOT on the children's list.I got my set of tarot cards when I was still a young teen and I also did my own astrological chart around the same age.But soon I became a young mother so everything got forgotten that didn't include being a mommy.Then I had another child and I didn't put much, if any, thought to my spirituality.However over the last year or two I have been slowly creeping up to the path I am on now.I am being patient this time around but I am still soaking up as much info as I can.I still spend alot of time at the library and since I live in a very small town I have to order books from other libraries.I get some odd looks from the librarians which amuses me.For this being such a small town I have 4 churches within walking distance of me, so I'm sure you can imagine the mind set of most folks around here. I have kept to myself alot since I have moved to this town.So I'm pretty much a solitary pagan, but I would love to find other like minded people to talk to and learn from.I know I will meet others when and if I'm supposed to.I'm just happy that I found my own path and I'm enjoying the view along the way.

Practice PREcycling

I know that everyone is onto the Recycle,Reduce,Reuse part (well I hope you all are) but what about precycling? Precycling is as simple as reducing waste before you buy.By making the right choices when shopping , by precycling, you can prevent excessive waste and the need to recycle.Although recycling is wonderful it does require energy to recycle those products and therefor uses up large amounts of energy at recycling centers and puts a significant amount of pollution back out into the air.Which is counterproductive.

* Each American uses about 205 lbs of plastic per year,about 65 lbs of that if for the packaging of the items we buy and is thrown away as soon as the package is open.
* About 30% of ALL plastic is used for packaging.
* Americans go through almost 3 million plastic bottles every hour!!!
* Packaging waste accounts for almost 1/3 of all garbage American send to landfills.
* Buyer packaging amounts to roughly 5 million tons of waste a year.

So I know you are wondering what you can do right?? Be aware of what you are buying.Everything you purchase has a effect on the environment.Try to make it a positive effect.Here are a few simple things you can do:

* Bring your own reusable bags to the store so you will never have to answer "Paper or plastic?" again.
* Buy eggs in cardboard cartons and NEVER in styrofoam. Or if possible go to a local farm and buy them there.
* Look for the recycled logo on all boxed items you purchase.
* Buy in bulk.It's cheaper and uses minimal packaging.
* Buy veggies loose and not in plastic bags.The best way to do this is to buy locally from a farm or farmers market.Or even better yet grow your own.
* Avoid squeezable plastic containers, which are made of different types of plastic in several layers, and are non-recyclable.

If only 10% of Americans purchased products with less plastic packaging just 10% of the time, we could eliminate about 144 million pounds of plastic from our landfills,reduce industrial pollution, and send a message to manufacturers that we are serious about alternatives.Maybe if YOU rethink how you buy items then THEY will rethink how they send them.
Refuse what you don't need
Reduce what you do need
Reuse what you can't reduce
Recycle what you can't reuse
Rebuy (buy recycled) whenever possible.

Squirrel pic of the day

What have I become?

I'll tell you exactly what I have become.A hugger. Now let me just tell you that I am not the cuddly type at all.I never have been.But I am going through some strange emotional change lately.It causes me to cry daily, and that isn't that bad unless I'm in public.And that happened last week.But they are always joyful tears and not really tears of sadness.I am a mushy ball of girly emotions these days.Which leads me to my new behavior, hugging.Now I always hugged my loved ones and not so loved ones, but this has ventured out to strangers.A few weeks ago I got teary and hugged a women in the checkout at a pet store.I wont go into the story cause I'm sure it will bore you to death but this women and I had a moment.Ok maybe it was just me who had a moment and maybe she was scared of this crazy women in front of her who may or may not be crying.Maybe it wasn't as meaningful for her but I will not dwell on that.Anyway, in the end I asked her if I could hug her.She said yes and I hugged her.A real, honest and pure hug.Not one of those crappy ones where the human contact is at a minimal and you do the double hand pat on the back thing.Not good enough for me.I curl into these people ( there have been many lately) and HUG them.I don't invade their comfort zone I don't think.But I think the whole thing might freak them out a bit.They never turn and run and I can read people pretty well and I don't notice them looking for the exit door.I just think they stand there thinking to themselves....did this chunky stranger just wrap her arms around me?? lol Believe me when I tell you it is spontaneous, I don't set out to hug strangers.It just happens.But it's what feels right for me so I'm going to stick with it.I'm not sure I could stop even if I wanted to.

I wrote this a while ago and had it posted on a previous blog of mine.I decided to give it a new home and post it again here.

Severn Suzuki speaking at UN Earth Summit 1992

This young woman has so much wisdom for a 12 year old.She is an amazing human being.And to think this speech was in 1992, before the masses thought about the environment.Long before I myself ever put any thought to it.And here was this beautiful 12 year old talking to the UN about the environment and how to save our planet.She is my hero.I never get tired watching this and it still chokes me up every time :)
"If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it."

Homemade: All purpose orange oil cleaner

I have switched most of my household cleaners to homemade ones.This one is fantastic(no cleaning pun intended).Orange oil cuts through grease amazingly and almost everyone I know uses a cleaning product that has orange oil in it.It has been over a year since I started making this and I LOVE how well it cleans and I also love the scent.It makes me want to drink it, and I could since there are no chemicals in it.My daughter has (had) terrible asthma but since I have taken most chemicals out of my house it has cut down dramatically. She was on a rescue inhaler and a preventive one.Both of which she used everyday.She no longer is on the preventive one and hardly uses the rescue one.Changing over is one of the best choices I have made.Not to mention the fact that this stuff is super cheap to make....which Im all for. It does take time, but it isnt time consuming.The worst part of the process is waiting since this isnt something you can whip up and use on the spot.(I have another cleaner like that if anyone wants me to post it, let me know)This is made with items you probably have on hand and if not you will find in the grocery store.The vinegar used in this is a great disinfectant and deodorizer.And the oranges cut through grease better than anything else I have tried and they are yummy too!

Heres what you will need:

• Orange peels ~ I use organic so it's not coated with chemicals
  
• Vinegar
• Spray bottle

That's all it takes. Seriously. Well that and time.Save all of your orange peels when you eat them, it can be one at a time.You dont have to eat them all at once lol Then add them to your bottle of vinegar.Store the vinegar in a cool dark place.Mine is under the kitchen sink.Every day or so take the bottle out and give it a few hard shakes.I let mine sit for about 4 weeks before I use it to clean with.Fill up your spray bottle anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 full of the orange/vinegar mix and the rest with water.Then clean away.When the bottle gets low get a new bottle ready to go.I save some of the orange/vinegar mix and add it to my new batch to get things started.When I start a new batch I take the peels from the old bottle and wring them out to get all their goodness and that helps the start of the new batch also.I have other uses for the cleaner also but I will save that for another post.If you have any questions about this please click on the contact button and I will get back to you as soon as I can.Merry mixing!

The ease and benefits of farming ☺

Warning:If you have kids around you might want to watch this later due to strong language.

Homemade : All natural deodorant

If you haven't heard of the evils of store bought deodorant and the chemical poisons that are used in it you might want to look into it ASAP.Run to google and you will find tons of sites with lots of info.Go on now.Scoot!( I could spend hours telling you but I just want to get to the recipe lol)

Ok,Back? Did you see what I was talking about? Ready for a all natural substitute you can make at home with items you likely have on hand? One that has a handful of ingredients and is organic? Did I mention it takes less than 5 mins to make? Seriously, what could be more appealing than a item that stops you from stinkin up the place, is all natural, handmade by you in minutes, and is CHEAP?? And let me say this right now.I can sweat!I used to buy the clinical strength commercial deodorants and I still had issues with sweat and smell.But this stuff is AMAZING!

Here's what it takes:

• ~Coconut oil
• ~Baking Soda
• ~Corn Starch
• ~Tea Tree Oil
• ~Lavender Oil

That's it.You can also add other essential oils of your choice but this is all I use.The tea tree oil and the lavender oil are used for their antibacterial properties.That is what kills the funky smell.The baking soda works as the same but it also keeps you dry along with the corn starch.The coconut oil holds it all together and makes your skin smooth.
In a bowl mix 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup corn starch.Mix well.Melt 1/4 cup of coconut oil and add a couple TBSP at a time till you get a texture mud.You want it to end up thick like a paste BUT this stuff thickens as it sits.What you have in the beginning is not what you will have in about 24 hrs.So make it about 1/2 as thin as you want it to be in the end.My 1st batch came out THICK( I don't know if you can tell in the pic below).Whats great about this is that it still works no matter what the consistency is.It just makes it easier to work with if its on the creamier side.And if it doesn't get to the texture you want tweaking it is easy.Just add a bit of what you need till its where you want it.( Too thin add Baking soda/corn starch and too thick add coconut oil) I am also thinking about coming up with a liquid deodorant that I can put in a little spritz bottle.

Anyway here it is:


My container is the glass one on the right.I have had it for about 2 months and that's what is missing.Granted I don't use it everyday, but almost.I just scoop a little bit (very little) out and spread it on.A little goes a long way with this stuff.I don't have to reapply it either.This stuff is that good.I will NEVER go back to store bought.The plastic container on the left is my sisters that I just made.If you can see it the consistency is goopy like mud.In a few hours it should thicken up quite a bit and be creamy but firm.Go ahead and try it out! It works great, costs pennies and you wont have to run to the store and buy poison in a stick.Plus the containers you put this stuff in can be found in the kitchen OR you can even reused your old deodorant stick( save them from the landfill).Just fill them up,let them sit overnight to thicken, then use. If anyone tries it out please let me know what you thought.Merry Mixing!

Litha-The Summer Solstice ☼

This Sunday, the 21st ,it will be Litha.Also known as Summer Solstice,Midsummer Night, Midsummer Night's Eve, Gathering Day and on.It is the longest day of the year and also has the shortest night.It is a time to celebrate the beginning of summer, when the sun is at its most powerful position in the sky.The earth is flourishing beneath it and crops are being nurtured by its warm glow.They are starting to show promise of a full harvest.It is also believed that this is the time when fearies are in a most playful mood ( Even Shakespeare celebrated this in " A midsummer night's dream").It's been said that if you soak thyme in olive oil and then lightly anoint you eyelids with it you will be able to see the faerie folk at night!! So however you plan to celebrate the day please take the time to get outside, appreciate the sun and the green world around you.I plan on waking up before the sun that day to greet her and thank her.Im not really sure what else I will do since quite honestly I did not even know what Litha was just 6 months ago lol I am a single ( and sole) parent so Father's Day is not celebrated in my house.This will make a nice edition to what we celebrate already.I hope you all enjoy Litha and don't forget to say hello to the sun !!☼

Squirrel Pic of the Day

How to properly recycle everyday items

So everyone recycles their bottles, cans and cardboard/paper right? Right?! Well what about items that people may not know how to recycle? I know how busy life is and I know people don't have the time to go out and find where to recycle the items we use daily but that dont fit in the bottle/can/paper categories.( Insert Might Mouse music....."Here I come to save the dayyyyy!") You may have to make a phone call or click the mouse but I will give you a starting point to work with.Get your pen and paper ready.

• Batteries : My local Staples store accepts them, free of charge, as do some other retail stores in my area.Also check out ehso.com.They will show you places in your area where you can drop off batteries.
• Foam peanuts : Some peanuts are now made from vegetable starches! To see if yours are place them under running water and see if the melt.If they do then you have biodegradable and non toxic peanuts and the company that sent them too you kick ass! If not then you have the old evil kind.Call 'The peanut hotline' toll free at 1-800-828-2214 and they will let you know what businesses in your area accept them and reuse them.
• VHS tapes: Most people now buy DVD's and and moving on to blu-rays.To help keep VHS tapes out of the landfills send them to a business called Alternative Community Training.They are a nonprofit company that provides jobs for people with disabilities.They either erase the tapes, resell the ones in good condition or recycle the plastic from the rest.They have recycled more then 1 million tapes so far! Simply mail the tapes to them ( using USPS media mail makes it pretty cheap)

• ACT 2200 Burlington Columbia, MO 65202
  
  
  
• Paint: Donate!! There are tons of places in your area that will take your paint.Habitat for Humanity is always in need of..well anything you can donate.Check out habitat.org to find a habitat in your area.Or you can go to earth911.com and find out where to recycle it in your zip code.
• CD's and DVD's: You can mail discs to 'Back thru the future' a woman-owned ( whoo hoo) electronics recycling and data destruction company.They also let you know about recycling your hard drives.

I am going to look into this some more and if I come up with any others I will share them.If you have something that you want to recycle, but dont know how to, leave me a comment and I will do the hunt for you.Don't forget about precycling and save yourself some of the hassle of figuring out where to send items when your done.

Squirrel Pic of the Day

Pic found here

Strong Sun Moon - June 7th

On June 7th the Strong Sun Moon, also known as ' The lovers moon', will shine.It signifies the time where the sun has made its bold appearance and is shining down on the earth.Flowers are in bloom,crops are starting to show promise and people are seeing the fruits of their early spring labor.With the sun so strong the days are getting longer and longer.( I put my daughter to bed last night at 9:15pm and there was still a bit of light left in the sky) With the days getting longer this is the perfect time for connecting with others as well as nature.More daylight hours mean you have more time to spend on your relationships and gardens.This is a time to bond, nurture and cultivate your connections with others as well as the natural world around you.Enjoy what you have, take this time to make improvements on all the good things planted in your life.This is a time for us to bloom!

Pagan and Wiccan Rituals

The modern usage of the word Paganism is an umbrella term that can include everything from Asatru (worship of Norse gods) to Hellenic (worship of Greek gods) traditions. The word pagan usually refers to a person who has a polytheistic religion; that is, a religion that includes more than one god or goddess. In older times, the word pagan was used to mean a godless person who was only interested in sensual pursuits, which, frankly, doesn't sound like much of an insult to me! The word also had the connotation of unsophisticated, or country dweller, much like our modern words hick or redneck.

I think of modern pagans as being polytheistic, frequently nature based magical practitioners who are not bound by the Wiccan Rede and practice a religion that is not Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Each group of gods and goddesses has different rules, after all.

Wicca, by contrast, is a new religion, originating only fifty or sixty years ago. It is partly based on what earlier generations may have practiced, but many Wiccan traditions step away from history entirely.

Wiccans generally celebrate Sabbats and Esbats, holidays based on seasonal changes. These celebrations as a whole are commonly referred to as the Wheel of the Year. Other terms that differentiate Wicca from Paganism are the Rede and the Rule of Three. The most important part of the Rede is the oft-quoted an it harm none, do what thou wilt, while the Rule of Three is a karmic law that states that all actions of the witch will reflect on him or her with three fold consequences, whether positive or negative.

While Wicca can be included under the umbrella of paganism, there are often differences in the rituals each subset practices. One of the major differences between Wicca and pagans is that a certain group within Paganism devotes much time and energy to reconstruction. This is the study of how ancestral peoples practiced those religions that have survived in one form or another into the modern age, with the goal of keeping modern practice as true to original traditions as possible. Therefore, Hellenic, Celtic, Khemtic and other traditions based on location can have very different rituals from Wiccan, or indeed other pagans.

Just keep in mind that wherever you go to practice, the rituals will vary greatly (sometimes by enormous degrees). It's important to embrace only the practices that you feel comfortable with in any pagan ritual. Because there are so many different forms of practice, you really need to understand what you are getting into before embarking on a journey in any new group of practicing people. It's not surprising that the retention rates of most new people to a group or coven is extremely low. I know that it took me a long time to find people I was comfortable with.

I want to thank Willow at The Sacred Oak News Letter for writing this great article and allowing me share it with you.

I loved this article when I read it and I have read it a few times since.My own path is being built one stone at a time.Although the Pagan path rings more true to me than the Wiccan path I am letting the stones fall where they may.I look forward to learning each step of the way.

What a wonderful world indeed

My eyes got misty watching this :}