Light Some Candles For Me, Please

Yesterday was my interview. Things look promising. I'm supposed to know something next week. If I get this job, the drive will be 20 minutes, I'll be off every single weekend, and best of all, it's first shift! So please, please, please, Dear Readers, go light some candles and work your mojo for me!

Thank the Goddess for Candle Petitions!

I GOT MY MONEY! FINALLY!

I also got my first decent paycheck, I was able to pay HughesNet, and I have a sewing job so I get to dust off the sewing machine! Wheeee!

I still have all the pups, but Charlene was adopted via craigslist and much to my surprise the person who came for her was someone I knew. In fact, she was the perfect person to adopt Charlene, she's older, has a house and two other dogs, and she has no children so she is devoted to her pets. She immediately started talking about all the ways she would care for Charlene so I put Charlene in the SUV and away they went. Yay!

Kevin got a call back on a job. They thanked him for his application and he should be getting an interview soon. We hope.

I finally have a day off. I was scheduled to work all weekend. Whew.

And I got an Etsy sale!

Thanks to all who felt bad for me, lit candles, said prayers, hexed the scrap yard or whatever wonderful thing you did, IT WORKED! Thank you!

Loser

The scrap metal guy bought large dumpsters for the scrap yard. They cost $16,000 and he paid for them with a bad check.

The repo man came for the dumpsters.

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

In My World

I am under a lot of stress.

I am still working on 2nd shift in another time zone. I'm still not making any money. I work a lot of overtime at the beginning of the week and get sent home early towards the end of the week. I am working a lot just to end up with a short check.

I was cheated by the scrap yard. We sold scrap 700lbs of scrap metal a week ago Saturday and was paid with a bad check. Not knowing it was bad, I used my debit card all weekend. On Monday I was overdrawn. On Friday I got a letter from my bank telling me not to use my account because the check was bad. Thanks a whole hell of a lot, WellsFargo. I have a house phone, a cell phone, and two email addresses. Snail mail is NOT the best was to communicate with me. The scrap metal guy has done nothing but lie to me. I am trying to get the money but it is a slow process because I have to give him the opportunity to pay up before I can take any kind of action. When a bad check is written it is a civil matter UNLESS I can prove he knowingly wrote me a bad check and then it is a criminal matter. Right now I don't have any proof. But I am making it my mission in life to make his existence hell on earth and I am doing my damnedest to ensure he goes to jail. I hope when he gets out he has 'Bubba's Bitch' tattooed across his forehead.

I am trying to deal with all my bills to keep from being even more overdrawn. I had to stop payment on Hughesnet this morning and there is a possibility they will cut off my Internet service. I have to go pay my insurance today and because I am constantly driving all over the place, I am always needing gas money. I have no money and Kevin is about broke from trying to keep me out of the hole. Since I am supposed to be sleeping during the day, all of this is especially hard to deal with.

My friend is getting married on the Summer Solstice, which is great, but I probably won't be able to go to her wedding b/c I have to work that night and should be sleeping instead of going to the courthouse. I can't give her a present either.

I really, really, really want to shut myself in my sewing room and stitch. I can't because I have too much else to deal with. My sewing machine is dusty and I think that's just plain sad.

I am trying to sell the puppies. I wanted to make them service dogs, but I REALLY need money. So far the selling hasn't happened because Craigslist wouldn't give me a verification code, and WTF? I have never needed a code before.

I'm not even talking about my blood sugar. It's bad.

I have an interview on the 28th. That was the earliest I could get. Kevin has also been job hunting and he isn't getting any calls back. We are really tired of barely scrapping by.

I have four items to list in my Etsy shop and I just don't have the time to manage the shop. I haven't even looked at zazzle in over a week. I got one item listed this morning and that was a flat out miracle.

I have no idea when my next post will be. I'll be back whenever I get back.

All About Me

Well, not really, because other awesome people are featured. But I am on the list, so go look.
http://emkat-creations.blogspot.com/

Rea Quick Post- Make a Wish!

I don't have a lot of time, and damn, I see that I have lots of reading to do! This is a quick reminder that tonight is the full moon. It's an especially powerful one, so tonight light a candle and make a wish. Be careful what you wish for! I hope good things come your way!

Silent Sunday- Gargoyles

Kitchen Witch Tips

1. Try to start each day with magick. I'm really not very good at this, but when I manage it I have an easier day. You can say a prayer, light a candle, ask for messages, or do a spell.

2. Make up your bed as soon as you get out of it so nothing can take up residence in your bed or harm you while you sleep. Make a dream pillow, start a dream journal, hang a dream catcher, or keep an angel statue nearby.

3. Rugs are the most forgotten magickal item in the house, especially if it is handmade. Place herbs or slips of paper with runes or spells under a rug to activate magick every time you walk on it.

4. I'm a little ashamed to admit I did this, but it totally works. Kevin tends to be mad with everything when he has a bad day. During one particularly stressful time at work, I got tired of being on the receiving end of his negativity. While I was making his tea, I got an idea. I poured sugar into the pitcher and said, 'Kevin, you will be sweet to me.' Then I made the tea as usual. He drank one glass and went to bed. The next morning he was sooooo nice! I asked my friend if I interfered in Kevin's free will. She said no, I acted in self-defence. I've never told Kevin about the sugar spell and I don't do it every time. It's just sometimes I've got enough to deal with, ya know?

5. Here's another one that always works: Whenever something is lost, pray to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost items. 'Tony, Tony, come around, something's lost that can't be found.' I've even used this to get a signal on the satellite. And I always tell St. Anthony 'thank you' after I find what I'm looking for.

6. This is the storm protection spell I have on my house: I keep an old ceramic pot filled with stones on the porch. Every 3 months or so, I wash the pot and stones. As I place the stones back into the pot, I ask each stone to protect my home and all who reside in it from storms. We've survived hail, high winds, serve thunderstorms, and tornadoes.

7. Grow your own food. Nothing is more magickal than planting, harvesting, and cooking homegrown tomatoes. Plus they taste better. If gardening scares you, start small with one or two plants in a container then expand every year. Don't worry about how to grow it, just give it some water and see what happens. I've grown a lot of things I 'wasn't supposed to' because I live in the 'wrong zone'. Just grow whatever you like. I started off with flowers and herbs. My first garden had mint, mini roses, marigolds, peppers, and aloe- all in containers on a table in the front yard.

8. I like to banish problems. On Saturday I write down everything that is bothering me. Everything. Big problems and small, personal problems and world affairs. I burn the paper in my cauldron. I can't solve all my problems this way, but a lot of them seem to just go away. (Still working on the diabetes thing; I'm not giving up.)

9. There are many ways to banish as you go throughout your day. Sweep away from you. Peel away. Before you close the lid on the washing machine say, 'all my problems are washed away!' When you throw out trash, let go of anger too.

10. There are equally as many ways to draw energy toward you. Smooth out the bed covers toward your body. Every time you tie a knot, imagine you are tying good things like luck and happiness to you. When you come home from the grocery store imagine that with each item placed in the cabinet, you are placing abundance and wealth into your home.

11. Stir clockwise to bring good energy and counter-clockwise to release. I try to release high sugar and stir in good health. Counter-clockwise is a great direction when you're on a diet.

12. I like to cast circles. I cast circles around my house, my truck, my pets, and myself. I cast circles around my plants to help them grow. I lay my jewelry in small stone circles to charge it.

13. I never bring junk mail into the house. Junk mail is a waste on every level- paper, time, energy, and it usually insults me. I have a trash can in the storage room and that's where all the junk mail goes.

14. Never, never, never cook when you are upset. Every single time I cook when I'm angry, I either ruin the dish or make a huge mess.

15. Plan ahead. It is far easier to grab a spell bottle than to wait for the planets to align. When I harvest my herbs, I think about correspondences and I try to have a spell for every occasion- banishing, prosperity, healing, love and I make the spell at the right time. Spells will keep. I label all my bottles with the type of spell and ingredients in case I need to make more (or adjust the recipe) I also like to tie ribbons around the bottles so I know at glance what I have in stock.

16. The best way to clean a bottle is with hot soapy water and a bottle brush. Bottles brushes are fairly cheap and can be found with the baby bottles at the grocery store. To dry a bottle, wash it, then place it upside down in the oven on the oven's lowest setting. It should be dry within half an hour. Turn the oven off and let the bottle cool over night, or remove it carefully with a pair of tongs. I only reuse glass bottles. SOME plastic bottles MAY withstand the heat of an oven and some may not. I'd rather not guess.

17. I started using herbs in spells by buying spices at the dollar store. I'd buy whatever caught my eye, then research the correspondences. I used a pendulum to determine what spices to use together and I still use most of the recipes today.

18. If I could only recommend one item to a kitchen witch, it would be lemons. Lemons banish negative energy and they are very cleansing on a mundane level. Heat lemon juice in the microwave then wipe the microwave clean with a rag and the warm juice. Pour lemon juice in the mop bucket (or vinegar) to clean the floor. Add lemon juice to the pet's bathwater to kill fleas. Dab lemon juice on your skin to heal acne or to be rid of warts. Pour lemon juice down the drain to be rid of bad smells.

19. Speaking of fleas, if you have an infestation, sprinkle salt around the room. Wait 24 hours then vacuum. No more fleas! This only kills the flea and not the egg so you'll need to repeat the process in a week. I would do it every week for at least a month.

20. To kill ants use cooking spray. I spray my humming bird feeders with it.

21. Remember that magick is all around all the time. You can do any spell you want. You don't need a spell book, you need creativity and a strong desire to succeed.

Sorry, Guys

I woke at 5:30am with a low sugar. For those of you who are not diabetic, that means I woke up hot, skin clammy, and heart pounding. I ate some chocolate I keep by my bed, and when my sugar came up, I felt cold, drained, and exhausted. I slept another 4 hours. When I got up, my sugar had dropped again. I spent most of today feeling like crap on toast and being unable to think. Thus, I never wrote my kitchen witch post.

I also got paid today. I didn't make very much. I am working a lot of screwed up hours for damn little money. I can't keep going like this. Someone go buy everything in my etsy shop (or zazzle, I'm not picky) so I'll be able to get through this week. Please.

Tomorrow I'll try again. Maybe if I get off to a better start I'll have coherent thoughts.

I Got a Thing About Doors

Of all the pieces, parts, and rooms in a house, I consider doors to be the most magickal. Doors are the ultimate between places. What is the scariest part of the horror movie? When the door creaks open. How many times have you seen a movie, tv show, or read a book where a character finds something unexpected behind a door? Doors have power.

Mama Kate's house had a weird door situation and I think that very placement had a more profound influence on my psyche than anything else in childhood. It was a little house with a short hallway. There was 6 doors in the space with the illusion of two more, plus a large floor vent taking up a yawning space. I was terrified of the vent and would not walk over it. Unfortunately, it was right in front of the bathroom. I used to make my parents carry me in and when I was done, I would scream for one of them to carry me out. They got tired of my fear, so I had to edge along the wall sideways.

There were just too many doors. The hallway was weird. The air was cold and thick. It was dark. Once in the hallway, the rest of the house seemed to disappear. Sounds were muted. People seemed to fade away or become lost as they walked into the bathroom.

The hallway had a door on each end. These folded back against the wall and gave the illusion of two more doors in the wall. There was a closet door, a bathroom door, and two bedroom doors. And that big, black chasm in the middle which I never wanted to fall into.

I have to say, my grandfather had a ceramic shop. His shop used to be my grandparents' house before they built the house of too many doors. The shop had a big floor vent too. I had no problems walking over it. No strange, cold air in the ceramic shop. No funky hallway either, and all the doors were in normal places.

Doors change everything.

About once a month, usually on a dark moon, I ward all my doors. Doors are portals, not just to rooms, but they can be portals to the otherworld. I don't want just anything coming through. Some other things that can be portals are windows, mirrors, pictures, screens, vents, drains, and curtains. Anytime you change the focus of a wall you could create a portal and that's why I don't like those little fairy doors. I think they're an invitation for the fairyworld to come into this plane and not all fairies are nice.

The first thing I do is clean. I wipe down the door frame with a damp rag. Next I wipe down the door. If the wall is dirty (yeah, I'm the type of housewife who scrubs walls) I'll clean it too. Then I seal the door. I've used drops of oil (nice, but leaves a stain), I've drawn pentacles (very effective and muggles have no clue a door is warded), and I've hung empowered objects over the door. I've also hung bells on the doorknob to keep evil away (the sound purifies) and tied knotted cord around the knob to keep nosey people away. I keep an open safety pin under my door mat as protection against intruders. Plants help too, mums are my favorite, they keep neighbors from gossiping about me.

I've never used a mirror on a door, but when I lived in the trailer I kept mirrors in some of the windows because we had Sadie working in the office. Sadie was meanest old bat I have ever met. She was passive aggressive and conniving. She loved to go into people's homes and snoop. She would also go through the trash. Her trailer was on one side of mine and the office was on the other side. After I caught Sadie in my home, I kept mirrors in each window and Sadie begin to have horrible luck. Her car went out on her and she had to buy another one which she couldn't really afford. She was cheated by another tenant. Eventually Sadie got fired for embezzling. I still kept the mirrors in the windows until I moved.

Warding is not a once and done deal. The spell must be repeated on a regular basis. It's like housework- you'll do it again and again. Since it needs to be done repeatedly, I add it into my housekeeping. I do lots of magick that way. When I clean my mirrors (on the full moon), I seal them (portal, remember?) Before I clean a room, I smudge with incense. I want to cleanse the negative energy as well as the dirt and dust. Every six months (summer and winter solstices) I clean behind the fridge and stove.

Tomorrow- kitchen witch tips.

Spread the Word Wednesday

I have decided to mention the blogs/sites I read, why or how I started reading them, what I like, and if I think it is useful to others. So today's site is
http://flylady.net/

I first heard about the Fly Lady on a quilting site. I clicked on the link, and while the concept seemed interesting, I didn't really get into it. There's A LOT of info on the site and I just got bored wading thru. Then I found her book Sink Reflections and if you want to do her system I suggest you read the book first because it explains everything.

Fly stands for Finally Loving Yourself and the idea is to stop stressing. Make life as simple as possible. People who follow the FlyLady are called FlyBabies. The whole system works by cleaning your sink, then keeping it cleaning. Eventually, the rest of the house falls in line.

The FlyLady divides the house into zones and spends one week cleaning each zone very well. She also has a weekly house blessing so other household chores don't pile up, and missions to help with the chores that don't really fit into a zone like returning books to the library. The beauty of the weekly zone system is that NEVER again will you spring clean your house because every month you will have scrubbed the whole house from top to bottom.

The FlyLady's system has a lot of merit, but I had to do a little adapting to make it fit my needs. I only have one bathroom whereas the FlyLady has two. I have a storage room, but not a garage. The FlyLady has a front entrance zone and I used to clean my porch for that week, then I decided porches need their own zone. I also decided one week was a bit much for me, so I do a zone each day. That's what the 'Where to Clean?' box on the right of this blog is about.

The FlyLady system DOES work as long as you remember two very important things: 1.) You must plan your day and 2.) You must stick to the system! You can't take a day off, be lazy, or swap around zones. I was bad about swapping zones in the beginning because either I would forget what I was supposed to be doing or I would work myself to death. After I cleaned the kitchen I would move on to the bedroom and before I knew it I was exhausted. Quit when you're ahead!

My house still reverts to CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) but this almost always happens because I am too tired to stick to my routine. Right now it's happening because I have ten freaking black lab puppies peeing and pooping in the kitchen. I can't keep up. This morning I put them in the pen and started mopping. I got the floor almost clean, still had a few spots to scrub, and then I realized it was way too hot outside for little babies. They immediately peed on the floor as soon as I set them down. I'll try mopping again tomorrow. I am not going to kill myself lugging around buckets of water. The FlyLady advocates only doing what you can handle in one hour. This was another hard lesson for me because I want everything DONE.

The problem with housework is it's never done. Even if the house is spotless when you go to bed, the next morning you'll get up and do it all over again because humans create constant mess. We dirty plates and clothes. We roll around in bed and track dirt across the floor. That's life. I look for ways to make life easier. I try to eliminate clutter. Clutter takes up too much space. Clutter has to be moved around so make room for living. The more clutter you have, the more money you will spend taking care of it. Either you will buy more storage containers to hold the clutter, you will buy more cleaning products to maintain the clutter, or when something is lost in the clutter you will spend money to replace the item. I think very carefully before I bring anything into my house. Usually I take something out to make room for the new thing.

I think everybody has the right to a clean home. And everybody should know how to take care of their home. After all, houses don't clean themselves.

Tomorrow's post- how to keep house kitchen witch style.

Without the Pink Legs

Kevin's leg is in yesterday's puppy photos. Here's a better picture:

Yes, he's very outdoorsy.



Puppies

Silent Sunday- Witches

Going Back to Normal (As A Freak Like Me Can Be)

This coming week, the main customer my job supplies is shutting down for vacation. They don't run, we don't run.

Hopefully during this time I can get my sugar back to a normal level. I can sleep at night instead of keeping vampire hours. I can exercise, which I haven't done since I started this job, and I can cook real food. I haven't had time to go grocery shopping, let alone prepare full meals. I just ate a fish stick sandwich because that was about all the food in the house :(

And I can do battle with my archenemy- Tomato Horn worms!

I HATE these nasty little things! Last year they striped my tomatoes of all leaves in less than two days. As soon as you find one, KILL IT! I found three yesterday while watering the garden. I really hate to touch them so I tried knocking them off with the hose but they can really hang on. I had to grab 'em. ICK! Don't be afraid of the 'stinger' on the end, they can't hurt you.

What I really hate is how gross they are when I step on them. Green gunk skeets out. Eeeeewwwwwweeeee! I called Kevin to inform him he was on pest detail as soon as he came home. Kevin wanted to use the horn worms as fish bait. I said no because I want them to die immediately. After I got off the phone, I checked again and found 3 more. Horn worms are hard to see because they are the same color as the tomato leaves. Kevin found 1 when he came home. I checked this morning, but didn't find any. Horn worms beware! I am watching! YOU WILL DIE!

New Mirror in My Etsy Shop

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75264191/celtic-knot-mirror

Non-Adjustable

Tuesday (or rather, WEDNESDAY MORNING) when I came home from work, I was so tired I just crawled into bed without setting the alarm. Thus I was not awake at 7:30 to take insulin. I didn't wake up until around 9:30. I was over two hours late with my daily insulin dose.

I was sick as a dog all day yesterday. I was so sick, I called in. At first, I didn't know what was wrong other than I was miserable.

This morning I got up when I was supposed to. I got the correct dose at the right time. I'm fine now. Not a hint of nausea.

This second shift thing is so not working for me.