Mandala Monday

I'm nuts for pecans!

Week in Review - November 4 - 10

This is how I spent Saturday afternoon - at the movies with Lady K. We went to see The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. The story was so-so. Definitely not riveting. But the scenery and costumes were fantastic. And anything with Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren in it can't be bad.

But I was focused on Richard E. Grant as Shiver. I first saw him in The Scarlet Pimpernel. He played such a wonderful combination of a fop and master spy. He's one of those actors who is in everything and you go 'I know him from somewhere'. 

The seats in our nearby theater are 'reserved' and recline. With heated seats! It was great for a little squirmy body as the movie was a bit over her head. However, she wants to watch the movie again so we will be getting it on DVD when it's released. Of course, the music is great.

Tuesday was spent in the Raleigh-Durham area as I took a friend in for medical tests. It was a chilly, drizzly day, but I got to spend some time with a good friend. And I dropped in for a quick visit at the AA Reservations Office. They have spruced it up and made some changes in the past 5.5 years. It was great to see some familiar faces, but not enough to make me regret the decision to retire when I did.

And speaking of work, I got my schedule for GameStop this week for Thanksgiving week, my first week of 'real' work. It should be interesting. All those years of working the holidays came back to me. So Thanksgiving dinner will be lunch as I have to go to work at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Luckily, I am not a Black Friday shopper as I will also be working that madness. I can't wait!

Otherwise this week...

•  I have 13,561 words toward my NaNoWriMo goal. A bit behind, but hopefully will catch up shortly.
• Finished 2 books
• Wrote 3 posts
• Visited a CBD store in Charlotte and picked up some drops and salve to help with the pain in wrists and fingers.
• Meal plan made for Thanksgiving so I have a grocery list for shopping next weekend
• Purchased Christmas presents for Lady K, CJ, and Texter (from Lady K)
• Traded in books for credit at 2nd and Charles.
• Tex-Mex with Texter for lunch at La Fiesta Grande
• Babysitting with Lady K over the weekend while Texter has self-time with Mr. Race Car (she's paying me back by devoting all day on the 12th while Lady K is out of school)

With the presents I purchased this week, I am basically through with Christmas purchases. Well, I do have to finish paying off a Nintendo Switch for a 'family' gift and maybe some 'fillers', but otherwise, I'm done.

This coming week...

• The Grinch Who Stole Christmas at the movie theater with Lady K
• Catching up on NaNoWriMo word count
• Getting in hours on my at-home-work
• Upping my step count to hit 5000 steps a day (so close last week)
• Cards out to friends for Thanksgiving
• Work out my 'schedule' of work, writing, needlework a bit more - why can't I do it all?

But for now, it's more coffee and a lot of writing before seeing the Grinch!

Tuesday Sundries - Tea Drops and Enlighten Up!

This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to have the day to myself. I was eagerly anticipating the Fish Fry at the Methodist Church up the road. I love fish and I'm the only one in the family who eats it.

Also on Saturday, I was anticipating a visit to Enlighten Up! which was offered by the Council of Esoteric Professionals. Or in other words, a psychic fair.

After a quick stop at Target for a toaster and Starbucks for a Toasted White Chocolate coffee, I headed up the road. 

It was really small. As in I could have hosted it in my living room. There were about a dozen 'readers' of different sorts, but I wasn't feeling a reading. So I browsed the half dozen vendors. 

I left with two chakra bracelets and a necklace. 

I have had my eye on one of these for a long time. I got one for me and one for Savvy. My bracelet has a small Buddha head on the backside. Besides the colored beads for the chakras, there is lava stone beads filling it out. I can put some essential oils on them to make it a scented bracelet.

What I am finding after wearing it for a couple of days as it is a reminder to stop and breathe. I can easily allow myself to go off on silly stuff - like stupid drivers - when I should just relax and let it go. And I am amused (and liking) the fact it is on my wrist with my Apple Watch - modern and old on the same wrist.

I also picked up this necklace. It called to me for some reason. I was going to let Texter have it, but maybe not. The stone is a quartz crystal which has been heated and had titanium applied to it. 

But Saturday didn't end with that!

I received my order from TeaDrops. 

I don't remember where I came across them, but I have had them bookmarked for several months now. I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and place an order when I saw they had a Thai Tea 'kit'.

Their premise is tea which is dried and pressed into 'drops'. You just drop them into hot water and ta-da - a cup of hot tea. No bags, no loose tea leaves, just a cup of nice tea. I thought they would really come in handy for work as anyone can generally come up with a cup of hot water.

I ordered a sampler pack which comes with a dozen 'drops' of different flavors. (I already let Savvy have a couple to sample.)

Unfortunately, at least to me, I have a love/hate relationship with hot tea. That's the issue. Hot! Ice is supposed to be iced and sweet. And I would so love to enjoy hot tea more. There is something so 'civilized' and calming about a cup of tea. I'm trying.

I pulled out one of my 'china' cups and selected the Sweet Peppermint to try first. I know I like mint and the 'sweet' is a no-brainer.

So I plopped my tea drop into the mug of hot water.

And within seconds I had a cup of tea. 

There is some very, very fine sediment in the cup, so it doesn't totally dissolve. But it's very nice. I can see taking this in my purse to work. 

I am awaiting a review from Savvy on the Thai Tea. 

The 'kit' comes with five drops and five packets of sweetened condensed milk.

I gave three sets and the box to Savvy and two will be heading to Montana to Miss Oklahoma. She is responsible for introducing Savvy and me to Thai Tea to begin with. The only problem with Thai tea is you have to make a pitcher of it at a time. And if you are the only one drinking it in the household it is a bit much. And since both of them work, I though this would be a great idea to take to work or to come home and be able to have a glass quickly and easily.

But now back to NaNoWriMo writing and sipping on my Sweet Peppermint tea.

Mandala Monday

Week In Review - October 28 - November 3

This is pretty much how I have felt for a good part of the week. Halloween came and went and I deflated. 

Actually, I have done pretty well. I haven't eaten all that much candy this year - before, during or after - Halloween. 

Lady K had a delightful time. She was Jasmine this year and Aunt Savvy dressed up and accompanied us to the mall for a massive Trick or Treat time. Then Mr. Race Car came to the house and went with Texter and her around the neighborhood. I stayed home and gave out handfuls of candy to the kids which came around to get rid of candy.

We started the week last Sunday with a beautiful fall day. Lady K and I went for a few minutes at a nearby park. I wish the park had sidewalks to get to it. It's so close, but the only entrance is on a busy road, so we can't walk.

I'm still trying to get in the groove with work and writing since NaNoWriMo has started. The writing end, for once, is going well. The work aspect isn't. I get allowing myself to get interrupted with 'other' stuff. But it's getting better. 

Otherwise this week...

• NaNoWriMo started this week and in three days I am at 6295 words!
• Performed a Samhain ritual and did a reading for Savvy and myself
• Finished 4 books
• Wrote 5 posts
• Attended a psychic fair on Saturday. Very small and I didn't have a reading. 
• Taking Lady K to school in the mornings now that the bus has extra stops and gets to school too late for breakfast and getting to class on time
• Bought Lady K's Christmas presents at a Kmart closing nearby
• Grocery shopping and kitchen purge with Texter
• Invited to apply for another at-home job 

This coming week...

• More writing on Fae Trouble. Will hopefully hit 20,000 by the end of the week!
• Going to Raleigh for the day to visit with a friend
• Pull cards for November
• Max out my hours on my at home jobs. Game Stop job should be starting soon.

But for now, more coffee!

Positive Focus Thursday - What You Ask For!

Yesterday was Samhain, which is the start of the Wheel of the Year and my 'New Year' start.  

I have always felt September was more of New Year to me than January 1. It was my birthday, school started, fall. It just felt like New Years to me and I have been drawn to introspection, planning, all that sort of thing this time of the year.

So this year I decided to do a Samhain ritual for the new year and did a tarot spread for myself and the upcoming year. 

But before I did all that, first thing in the morning, I was reading through my emails and I received an invitation to apply for another work-from-home job with the company I am currently working for. It's nothing exciting or mindblowing, but it does allow me to work on my own schedule, in my own home and make money to run the household.

I had to start laughing after I submitted my application for it and holding my breath they accept me. Because if they do, I am going to be working (or have the opportunity to) about 70 hours a week between my new job with Game Stop and my work-from-home jobs. 

Pay isn't great, but it's above minimum wage for my work-from-home jobs so it will allow us to pay bills, play a bit and save some. The Game Stop job allows me to get out of the house and away from my computer and mingle with real people! 

And all because I have been asking the powers that be to provide me with money.

But I was thinking about the lottery!

I guess I didn't really get specific enough for the universe to allow me to win several million in the lottery. I guess they are telling me "Ok, you can have money, but you have to work for it."

Then I started thinking about Miss Oklahoma back in Montana. She had been looking for jobs, going on interviews and being passed over for 'sweet-young-things'. 

She started working part-time at a local pottery store - organizing, staging products, selling, media - a bit of this and that. 

Then she got a second part-time job with an organization in town, basically running the office and clerical areas. And then the first job offered her more hours and she is starting to actually do 'pottery' work!

So here we both are, having wished for money/work, and the universe goes 'BANG - YOU HAVE IT!' and we are working our butts off (and loving it!)

This is going to be interesting to see how all this work and NaNoWriMo play together, but I am going to love the flow of dollars coming in from all these different directions! But next time I am going to a tad more specific about what I am asking for.

Writing Wednesday - Fae Trouble

Fae Trouble is the working title and this is the working book cover for my NaNoWriMo project this year. 

The basis of the story covers the creation of a sanctuary for misfit fae. And it's done quite by accident and not something my main character had ever planned on or even really wants to do. But it is something forced on her and she doesn't really have a choice.  

Unfortunately, just saying 'you are welcome here' isn't enough. Especially if the High Court and a wicked step-father are involved.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday Sundries - 90 Day Planning

I recently 'discovered' Sarra Cannon of Heart Breathings on YouTube. She is an author and writing coach among other things and I have been binge watching her videos the past couple of weeks. (I usually have them in the background while working.) 

She is passionate planning and in order to move forward with all the areas in her life, and to be successful in them, she uses a 90-day plan. 

I have tried monthly planning and yearly planning. I plan my weeks and days, but I feel like I fall short of where I want to be. So I decided to give the 90-day planning a try.

AND...

As it turns out, Samhain is the start of the Wheel of the Year. So basically, it's  Wiccan/Pagan New Year. So my 'plan' will cover November/December/January for the first ninety days. It dovetails nicely into plans I had in my head and am now getting down on paper so they are out there in front of me to actually work on rather than sitting there and just being thought about.

I divided my projects into three areas - 

• Writing
• Working
• Spirit (creative/personal)

Sarra uses a white board with sticky notes, as well as a written plan. That way she can move items from..

• Master Plan - tasks to be completed
• Get It Done - what currently working on
• Awesome Job - completed items

It's basically the same formula I currently follow which is to set a project and then break it down into tasks. This method is just a tweaked a bit.

First, you have to decided exactly what I want.

That's difficult since I usually want it all and want it now! 

So my goals for the three areas are:

WORK - Work enough on all my jobs so I am bringing in $3000 a month or more. This includes my retirement. This will give us enough to meet bills and to have a bit extra. 

WRITING - complete Fae Trouble and have it in a format I can beg for Beta Readers. Since NaNoWriMo is November, I should have a super rough draft by the end of November. 

SPIRIT - this is my 'personal' area and includes Health and Creative plans. I really want to concentrate on doing my card readings, completing a couple of needlework/quilting projects and monitoring my vitamins, exercise, and eating.

I won't bore you with how I am breaking them down into plans for the month, week and days. But I will let you know how it's going over the next three months. Wish me well!

Mandala Monday

Everyone needs a bit of witch's brew this time of year!

Week in Review - October 21 - 27

Whew!

Another week has flown by! And it has been interesting, especially the past couple of days.

I am now officially back in North Carolina and officially entitled to bitch about politics (and there is a lot to bitch about these days). 

My plan to work during the week and take the weekend off from 'work' isn't going all that well. With Texter at home job hunting, I find myself running out doing errands during the week. And I did have a couple of hours of training at GameStop this week. I can't wait to start working there!

But I have been a bit put out with myself for not getting more work done during the week. I hate telling Lady K to 'go away, I'm working' when she is at home. So more effort will be put into scheduling my time better. We did snuggle down last night and watch The Crocodile Hunter - The Best of Steve Irwin.  His kids are now in their teens and they are starting a show featuring them. Savvy, Texter and I spent many an evening together while they were growing up watching their dad's show.

I found out last week the manager at Savvy's GameStop is expecting his first child, so I had to make a quilt. Yes, I HAD to! Couldn't help myself.

A flannel blanket to throw on the floor, in the stroller, in the stroller...to use and abuse. We have one I made before Savvy was born and it's still going strong. A bit faded, but still in good shape. 

However, I now have enough flannel left over for another quilt or two - baby sized. I think since I have the fabric cut into strips is to make a herringbone quilt using a quilt-as-you-go pattern. It's a pattern I have been wanting to make and now I have an excuse to make it.

The weather has been cooler this week. So I now have company in bed more. It's not because of me personally. It's because I have a heated mattress pad. I keep it on the bed all year because there are times I want to have it on for my back. I like my room cool (ok, Texter says cold) regardless of the time of the year. 

And during one of our errand runs this week, I used my 'free' drink at Starbucks to try their Witches Frappuccino. It's purple - a plus. And green - another plus. And supposed to taste like an orangecicle. 

And it does - sort of. 

Texter and I discussed the fact it seems to be our 'thing' to try all the special frappuccinos Starbucks come out with. It's nice to have a 'thing' with your child.

But speaking of Texter...

Thursday afternoon she dyed her hair to cover up where the red she currently had in her hair was fading and growing out. She dyed it back to brown, mainly because we had a box in the closet. It was done and washed out by the time Lady K was due home from school. 

Unfortunately, in collecting Lady K, they stopped to talk to a neighbor and were swarmed by ants. In the process of getting ants off Lady K, ants attacked Texter and she was bitten several times on her arms, neck and hair. Don't ask. I can't figure it out myself. 

However, because she had just dyed her hair and then she went in and rinsed out her hair again to be sure she had all the ants out, her bites were doused with dye and got infected. By the next day, the left side of her face was swelling. I was calling her 'Frankenhead'. Mr. Race Car took her to the ER that evening and apparently their response was 'OH!' and a course of antibiotics and steroids.

She's feeling better, but the drugs make her tired. At least her head isn't swollen as much.

Otherwise this week...

• 5 posts written
• 5 books finished
• Lady K had her first school trip
• Drew cards for a friend and sent her a letter on an issue she is having
• Took my vitamins for 5 straight days!
• Worked on a '90-Day-Focus' planning session (more on that later)

The coming week...

• Gather items for a Samhain ritual on the 31st
• Start NaNoWriMo and hopefully attend a write-in or two
• Finalize pre-planning for NaNoWriMo novel
• Pull cards for November
• Go to an 'Enlighten Up!' event about tarot, etc
• Order a special Hobonichi for myself and a friend (yes, I'm ordering again!)

But in the meantime, more coffee, getting a few things done before I take Lady K for a 'nature walk' at the park this afternoon.