A time of thinning the veil,
A time to honour and welcome the old ones,
A time to clear out fears,
A time for inner peace.

We have gathered our crops
and been Blessed with abundance of nourishment and love
to sustain us through the dark winter.
May we honour the Earth for all that has been given.

Let us remember those who have gone before us, who draw closer to us now.
Let us also remember those animals, gifts from the Goddess,
who have died that we may eat,
who have provided us with love,
who have protected us from harm,
let us thank them all.

May the Goddess as wise one and the God as the lord of the shadows, bless us this Samhain,
And guide us through the dark days until we come once again to the light.

Blessings to all on this Sacred Day.

FANTASTIC Weekend!

Friday night = Pampered Chef Night and what a night we had. Denise's House was full of friends and we had a great time with appetizers and Margaritas. We had a lot of laughs, and it was a fantastic time.

Saturday Night Lindi, Sarah and I went over to our friend Lisa's house for a Halloween party and had a really fun time, then dropped over to D and T's house and played drunken poker 'til 2 in the morning! We had such an amazing time with our friends. Oh, man, we were tired on Sunday.

Monday was my first day back at work and I kinda felt like I was back "home." Everyone was so fantastic to me and although my work load isn't too much, it's a whole different ballgame being back in the office. Open Enrollment is in full swing, I'll tell ya.

On a more personal level:

I've been working on moving on and moving away - away from those who have been close to me and who are no longer, those whose life paths have deviated into harmful ways, those who no longer enrich my life, those who claim to be beside me in life but who are really non-involved, those who no longer share in a common good, those who say they respect my spiritual path and yet openly mock it, those who have hurt me whether it be intentional or otherwise, those who have made no effort in friendship over the past year but still claim friendship...

Moving into communing with those who have been with me in my journey and who understand my truth, moving with those who see what I am doing spiritually and respect the path I walk, encircling those who encircle me, and accepting me, with flaws and perfections, as a beautiful human being, seeking truth and love and willing to give both to those who are willing to do the same. It's a lot harder than one would think, I can tell you that.

My Manifestation of Today: Releasing Things and Those who Seek to do me Harm

~ I lovingly observe my attachment to my anger against those who offend me, and against my own thoughts and feelings that offend me.

~ I lovingly release this resentment and open myself to faith that, in community with others, I can respond creatively and compassionately.

~ I lovingly observe my attachments to my own body, mind, ego, thoughts, and feelings. I lovingly observe my attachments to other people and things, the way I become unconsciously absorbed with them. I notice the ways I think and act as if I own them.

~ I lovingly release my own body, my so-called possessions, my ego, thoughts, and feelings. I lovingly release my clinging to other people and things.

~ I open myself to loving myself and all other people and creatures and things, as free, sacred, miraculous beings. I open myself to delight in them, to enjoy them, to honor them, and to serve them as they may have need and as I am able.

~ I open myself to Love in all it's forms. I open myself to feel the divinity within myself and Love as the very essence of my being, to enjoy and serve mankind with my awe and my actions.

Catch up

Oh lordie. Things have been so crazy lately I haven't had time to do much else, let alone blog. Where to begin?

I began an intense spinal therapy last Monday and have been going to the doctor for daily treatments. I have been doing spinal decompression, and while it's not a forceful treatment like being adjusted by a chiropracter, it's been pretty draining. Basically, they attach my lower body and hips to a machine while I lay down and it slowly stretches me to allow my discs to go back into place naturally. Then, they use a TENS unit to deliver electrical stimulation to my lower back to speed healing, numb the nerves and promote circulation. My job has been so understanding, they are allowing me to work from home for 3 weeks so I have the freedom to do whatever therapy I need to in order to get better. It's been hard, and I still have one more week, then I continue therapy for an additional three weeks with strengthening exercises and physical therapy. It's an emotional roller-coaster, but I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Lindi and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on the 10th. We stayed low key as I haven't really been up to traveling much. I love you, honey. D and T took Lindi and I out to Olive Garden as my belated birthday present on our anniversary - how appropriate since D was our best woman at our wedding! I love our monthly outings with our BFFs! Such good people...

Last week, as I was loving on my half-tailed, transgendered, cross-eyed little boy-cat, I noticed what I thought was a mat on his fur. I ran my fingers over his rear leg, only to find a HUGE infected puncture wound! Mini was so good, he let me shave the site, open it up and get all the gunk out of it (twice) and clean the wound up. We did that for a couple of days, but we took him into the vet just to make sure he was okay. Our new vet, Dr. Miles, said Mommy did a good job and gave me some antibiotic liquid to give him twice a day for 10 days just to make sure the wound would heal quickly. Also, it turns out, Mini has a medium grade heart murmur we need to watch. Other than that, our little loveable misfit is perfectly healthy! He is soooo good at taking his medicine because he knows afterward, it's Mommy-Mini love time. Plus, it tastes like bananas.

I highly recommend Dr. Miles at the Cottonwood Cat Clinic - we moved all our records over to her and are going to take a cat a month into her for check-ups, teeth cleaning and their shots. Next year, we're going to run tests on Mini to see if the murmur has progressed and decide if we are going to put him on long-term meds. Poor little boy.

Speaking of cats, Lindi and I are the proud new owners of a micro-fiber couch and loveseat combo in mocha. It is beautiful! Four of the five seats recline, so we were able to get rid of our cat scratched la-z-boy. I went out the same day and got a new scratching pad, post and door hanger, and their favorite Cosmic Catnip - and they haven't even thought of running their claws through our beloved couch. I read about using the spray, and a vet recommended not to use it because some cats feel the need to "mark" over the scent. That's the LAST thing we need. They took to their new scratching sites very well, and loved the fact that they are adorned with catnip every other day - just enough to keep them interested, plus LOTS of praise when we catch them scratching the appropriate thing. Hopefully, we will keep the couch and loveseat looking beautiful for a long time to come.

PS: I heart microfiber!

I highly recommend getting a sisal scratching post. My cats don't really dig the carpet kind, although they will use it. The sisal (rope style) feels more like the trunk of a tree and they can't get enough of it. I got a scratching pad for the floor (their new sleeping spot), a stand up sisal post so they can stretch and scratch and a sisal pad that hangs on the door and has a bell... they think that's the best toy at 3am!

My business partner and I are gearing up for the holiday season and getting gift baskets together with our products to sell on our website, eBay and in a little boutique in Sandy. I am so excited to see this adventure flourish!

A close friend referred a co-worker to me earlier this week to perform her wedding ceremony in April and I am so looking forward to it. They specifically wanted a non-denominational ceremony and I fully support that. I get to meet the bride on Monday and work with her to get her ceremony just right and offer some other services if she needs them for her big day.

I think that's what I love about the Universal Life church - you can hold whatever faith you have, and still support others by way of weddings and commitment ceremonies without compromising who you are or who other people are. There is so much to gain from respecting one another's beliefs. I expect I will learn as much from working with other people as anything. I can still have my belief in my higher powers and not offend anyone, in fact, they don't even really need to know how I petition or pray. It's a personal thing, you know? I was thinking I would serve the gay community more, but, as it turns out, my first wedding will be a straight couple!

Sarah's knee surgery healing is going really well... but she was in a car accident with her ex-bf on Tuesday night. Thank goodness for airbags and seatbelts. She was in the front passenger seat and was t-boned in an intersection, and they had to cut her out of the car. She's pretty bruised and sore, but she is doing well. A small chip on her front tooth will be fixed here soon and she'll slowly get back to normal.

Oh and I can't wait for the Pampered Chef party on Friday!!! Margaritas, good friends, my sister and shopping! What could be better than that?

As you can see, Comcast has changed their picture storage, so I will be migrating all my pictures to the new system soon. Please bear with me...

Hope all is well in your world. Peace and love to you all!