Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Yes, kids, it only happens once a year, so come!  Celebrate the holiday the way it should be!  Plus, to add to the fun, there is a full moon (or at least nearly full, let's not get too technical), too!

I just finished my 30 minutes of self torture on the treadmill in the art/craft/sewing/exercise/doggy-litter-box room, so I'm sufficiently sweaty, to say the least.  I get off the treadmill, Poiret over and around the little doggy piles of love to the hallway, make my way outside to the front yard, lay down on the grass and make a pretty autumnal grass angel, representing the coming of the Autumnal Equinox Fairy.  By putting the grass angel out, the Fairy will know who's house to visit after the midnight naked dancing under the full moon.  By dancing naked, it just makes the full moon that much brighter, especially with my considerable assets!

So now, before the midnight festivities, I will have to shower off the grass stains on various parts of my body.  Luckily, I'm pretty sure that the generic Walmart color-safe bleach and detergent will remove grass stains somewhat from my sweat-stained clothing.

I'm hoping that by performing these annual rituals that the Universe, with It's infinite wisdom and powers, may see fit to bless me, my family and friends, with all the happiness and income sufficient to meet their/our needs/wants/desires!

The Universe is Kind...

I treated myself...

To Sarah McLaughlin's newest album, Laws of Illusion, and what a beautiful album!  Her music is soothing, even to wiener dogs, and her lyrics are sheer poetry.  Listening to her makes me feel young again, starts the stirring of creativity and of love.  What a beautiful gift she has to be able to lift one to a higher place.

Thank you, Sarah!  I wish I could know you in person.  You are a fascinating person.

I'm finding that as I progress in life, I only am being drawn to fascinating people, to share the love and light.  Sharing the love and light is better than any drug, natural or man-made.  It takes you so much higher into the better part of ourselves, and hopefully that better part can begin to spill into our daily lives and transactions.

Share the love because...

The Universe is Kind...

The Daily Grind

No, I'm not talking about coffee, although I only drink coffee at work, just to get the motor running.  I actually prefer tea, specifically the Earl Grey variety.  Today at work I sampled a different tea, one that was cinnamon flavored, and it was actually quite nice.

Yes, kids, I am still working, actually in a training class.  I find that as I get older, it's taking me a little longer to catch onto things than it used to be.  When I talk with others of my age in the class, this is apparently not that unusual.  Kris, my partner, is always worried about the possibility of loosing mental capacity, so she is always playing different games that challenge the brain.  I find since I'm not much of a game player, just reading every day about things of interest works for me.

Right now the topic that has captivated my attention is reading about the Jewish Mysticism called Kabbalah.  I've read quite a bit on the subject, with some books being more difficult than the others.  The book I'm reading now is called God wears Lipstick, by Kabbalist Karen Berg.  I've read her father's books, but Karen seems to present the subject in a way that is easy to read and comprehend.  Rabbi Berg's books were relatively well written, but it is obvious while reading them that he was approaching the topic in an "old school" fashion, using the original Hebrew words and trying to explain them in today's language.  Karen's book actually succeeds in imparting the information clearly, and if you find you may have an interest in the Kabbalah and don't know Hebrew, I suggest reading Karen's book first.

Kabbalah is not a religion, although it has deep roots in the Jewish Mystical traditions.  Kabbalah is a philosophy that makes an attempt to explain the origins of God, of physical matter and spiritual essence we call the Universe.  Kabbalah presents the idea that we are all made from the same stuff physically and spiritually.  That we, in our spirit bodies, were the one's that had the idea of separating from God, or the Light, in order for us to "earn" the things that God was willing to impart to us when expecting nothing from us in return.  So when we as a collective spirit decided to earn our way, God then restricted his Light and allowed us to attain our free will.

Studying Kabbalah has opened up my eyes to my own mistakes and misunderstandings of myself, and has taught me the way to correct my mistakes.  Correction is simple, yet quite difficult at the same time.  It takes quite a bit of meditation on the correction and incorporating the correction into my everyday life.  I liken it to my starting an exercise routine to be done every day before work -- but I don't exercise every day, and that is due to my own lack of self discipline.  Self discipline is the problem, not the exercising, so the weakness I have to work on is the self discipline.  Knowing and acknowledging the weakness is the first step toward fixing any problem.

Once I started understanding how Kabbalah works, I started an intense self-examination and found that many of the difficulties I have encountered in my life have been of my own creation, or at least, I have contributed to the difficulties by my thought patterns, my blaming others, and not accepting the reality that I have created for myself.  This revelation goes all the way back to my childhood, during the time when I started to become me, when I started to understand my place in this world as an individual, when I started to understand and contemplate God, family, relationships, and the Universe.  It's almost too much to comprehend, but like with anything else, I can only deal with and explore the fixes for the problems I find one at a time.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?  I have always been one for self examination, but now I believe I have found the correct tools to do something about what I find out about myself. 

Now how did starting out talking about coffee and tea end up with this being about self improvement?  Because everything we do, consciously or unconsciously, has something to do with our own journey back to where we came from. 

The Universe is Kind...

I've got it!

Yes, friends and family, I have got the job!  I start training on Tuesday, 09/07/10, it's a temp to hire through Kelley Services, working for a company that was acquired by ADP, the payroll and HR services company!  I will be a Benefits Councilor which is a job I know I will enjoy.  It's a call center job that is actually HELPING PEOPLE choose the right benefits for their personal situation. 

I have to give many thanks and kudo's to the representatives at Kelley Services for the excellent preparation they gave the applicants in order to succeed getting the job!  They are UBER professional and made the process easy and seamless.  Thanks Kelley Services!

I will be working M-F, 2:30 pm to 11:00 pm.  So if you don't see much from me during the week, you will know why.

I also want to thank the Universe for answering my prayers and pleadings!  I now ask the Universe to give me the strength of body AND mind to succeed at my training and be an outstanding Benefits Councilor.

Oh, and by the way, I also got a flu shot and recommend everyone get one, if not for your own protection, for the protection of those you love.

Thanks again for your good wishes and prayers on my behalf!  I am blessed with some of the best friends in the world!!!  The Universe is Kind.

A J-O-B??????

Yes, it is true!  I might have a job by the end of the week!  So it's time to thank the Universe for coming through for me!

Thank you, Universe!  You are Kind! Even when You're cruel, You are KIND!
It is another call center, but I need to do something until I become a millionaire.  And THAT will happen when my art is discovered, or I write a book like Erma Bombeck had done -- If life is a bowl of cherries, why am I in the pitts?

One thing I know for sure -- My creditors will be pleased as I start to pay them again!  I guess I really LIKE paying bills.  Now you all know for sure that I am CRAZY!

Job Hunting

I have been job hunting since March of this year, but to no avail.  I am searching for a job that will not affect my mental or physical health that possibly has some benefits, i.e. insurance.  It turns out that apparently one must sacrifice part of one's integrity, health, etc., in order to get a job and keep it.  I know that next time I make a mistake, I will NOT be as quick to admit it, or to even use deception to keep the said job.

I actually liked the job I was terminated from.  I loved the people I worked with, the job itself was challenging, the benefits were excellent.  I thought that my personal integrity would help, i.e., admitting my mistake and ready to take the punishment, but I was wrong.

But perhaps the Universe wanted me to learn a hard lesson, one that you can only learn through experience-- that in order to truly appreciate what you have, you must have it all taken away to appreciate it.

Perhaps I have become too complacent, not thanking the Universe for the things that I have accumulated, the knowledge and the skills that I do have, and to develop the skills I have neglected. 

Universe, I want you to know that I get it.  I have to give of myself and all that I have in order to serve you and most importantly, to fulfill the plan that you have for me.  I will walk that path joyfully and impart that joyfulness to those around me.  I now remember the promise I made to you when I was just a little girl -- Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

Thank you for this lesson.  I'm sorry it took so long to get back to what I'm supposed to do.

The Universe is Kind...even when It's cruel, it's kind.

August 2010 at Grimes Creek

This past weekend, from Friday, August 20 to Sunday, August 22, 2010, I went camping with the church group I recently joined.  We were camping in the Idaho mountains near Grimes Creek.  It is a beautiful area with pine trees, some old growth pines, steep mountains on either side of the creek, truly a place where you can relax and have a lot of fun!

Some of our fellow campers had ATVs and were exploring the surrounding countryside, while I stayed closer to camp and tried to fish in the creek for the Coconi Salmon that were running in the stream to spawn.  This particular type of salmon are bright red with black heads, and even though nearly every one of our party saw or tried to hand catch the salmon, I personally didn't see any, and no salmon were caught, but the fish stories around the campfire were hilarious!

Friday night we had a campfire and everyone was silly, telling stories, trying to think of songs to sing around the campfire, making up lyrics as we made a sincere attempt.  It was hard to sing between laughing so hard to the new lyrics, fish stories, etc.  We stayed up until midnight when our final camper arrived, then everyone went to sleep.

Saturday I woke up late, even though the sun was up as was the rest of our party.  I missed breakfast, but I had some backup food in my cooler. As the day wore on, the heat of the day was getting to everyone -- some jumped in the creek, some went on their ATVs, and I decided to take a drive in the comfort and air conditioning of my car. 

Toward dinner everyone congregated at camp, and we made what is referred to as "Stone Soup."  Basically, everyone brings one thing to add to the pot of soup, with the moral to the story that if everyone contributes what they have or what they can do, a community can survive and do it well.  It's a good lesson, and the soup turned out absolutely delicious with plenty to spare!

After dinner the weather started to turn grey and threatening. We really didn't think much about it until the downpour came and the winds kicked up.  Everyone scrambled to secure their vehicles, tents, kill the campfire, etc. Some in our party had heard screams from the next camp over, but were busy securing our campsite. Then some of our party went over to see what happened, only to find a horrible scene of destruction.

Two trees from the other side of the creek had fallen onto the campsite.  One tree fell on an ATV that the father of the family was trying to drive to safety, and even after CPR and other life-saving methods, he was pronounced dead.  The other tree fell on the family truck where the mother and three of their children, all under 10 yrs, had taken refuge, but by the grace of God, they were all able to get out the vehicle without injury.  Unfortunately, they were behind the ATV and saw what happened to the father.  The family was devastated in just one micro burst from the storm. 

The father was only 34 years old, left 5 children (the two oldest left earlier in the day) and his widow.  The whole family could have been wiped out if the mother hadn't moved the children to the truck because the tree that killed the father squashed and scattered the chairs that the family were sitting in. 

This event affected many in our church group in a variety of ways.  First, when the majority of us had gathered at our camp, the pastor grabbed a candle, lit it and we all gathered around the table the candle was on to pray for the family and the rescue workers; the campsite the family was in was one of the choices the pastor had to hold our gathering; the pastor and her wife and a few others in our group had been at camp since the previous Wednesday and had gotten to know the family, gone ATVing with them; one of our group is a nurse and was one of the people performing CPR on the man, and came back to camp just devastated and exhausted; and those of us who didn't go to the scene for various reasons, felt the family's pain and the pain of our friends.

Sharing this experience with a group such as ours created a new bond between us all.  We stayed up until the last emergency vehicle left, comforting each other, trying to make some sense out of what had happened, and trying to quiet the "what ifs" that were going through each of our minds.  No one really slept well that night.
 
Again, I must reiterate, that the Universe is Kind, even when It's cruel, it's kind.

My first post and rant!

This is a brand new adventure creating my own blog.  I am older than most of the you reading this blog, so some of the things I write may actually inspire you to have a better life than I have!  That is the main mission of this publication.
I love Idaho with only one exception: Idaho is only slightly less conservative than the state of Utah, and is run by mostly the Republican Party and any other ultra-conservative that may be disguised in liberal clothing.  As long as someone can ignore the politics, everything else in the state is quite beautiful!
Some of the laws and their associated penalties are a bit strange.  For example, I was visited by an Animal Control Officer who issued me a ticket/citation for my dogs' excessive barking.  We have tried everything to stop the barking, i.e., training at PetCo, shocking bark collars (they actually enjoyed the shocks after a while, masochistic that they are), and now, after having paid the $215.00 fine, we found the product BarkOff, which worked for a while and now the dogs seem to have an immunity to this product as well. 
But $215.00 + 3.00 just to swipe my card to get my money out of my checking acct!  It seems a bit excessive.
Last week when I was going fishing with a friend, with the friend driving, we get pulled over by a fine Idaho Highway Patrol officer.  We both had to give him our licenses.  He stopped us because the driver had signaled less than 5 seconds before entering the off-ramp, the license plate was obstructed by a trailer hitch ball (which we have never used and didn't realize was on the bumper), and I, being the fat rebel that I am, was not wearing my seat belt.
So guess what kind of ticket would be written? FYI, in Idaho, someone cannot be pulled over for a seat belt violation alone.  I, the rebellious old woman who likes to fish occasionally, received the only ticket from this officer, and the driver was let go with a "warning." 
How much was THIS ticket/citation?  $10.00.  No kidding, it's a Ten Dollar Fine.  And barking dogs are $215.00.
Honestly, I think Idaho has it's priorities messed up.
Just to let you know, my dogs are three little Dachshunds that are cooped up in the house whenever we leave the house, and when we are home, their barking is controlled by us screaming out the door.  I wonder how much my ticket/citation will be for "loud homeowner screaming?"