Mundane Ish, and more Mid Year Resolutions

One of my witchy friends, Valora, refers to her day job as her “mundane.” So true.

There are two main reasons why I might refer to my job as my mundane. Not only is it mundane as in boring, and repetitive, but I guess I have a “side job” creating jewelry. More of a hobby than anything else, but this year, I did reach out and create a little website where people can purchase my jewelry and crafts. Not like it’s really a “business,” but it’s a way to pay for my hobby. Crafting is anything but mundane. The other reason why I could easily refer to my day job as “mundane” is that a lot of my time is taken up with magickal activities. Besides leading a Wiccan coven (which takes more time than one would ever expect), I also manage the online school portion of a Pagan-oriented message board. I also teach Wicca classes from time to time, and I have a few online magickal classes that I teach as well. Another project of mine is working on a Wicca 101 type book (possibly a workbook type book), for those new to the craft who would like a little structure to their studies, and hopefully, it would also easily lend itself to study groups. Sometimes I do a little bit of spiritual counseling- mainly online. This is in addition to my personal Craft practices, of course. So, I guess my non-mundane job would be Wiccan Priestess, with a side of jewelry crafting.

Wouldn’t it be great to be a full time temple priestess? To create incense for offerings, pour libations to the Gods, to keep the altar. To divine and counsel and help those in need. To teach the ways of the Goddess to those who truly seek Her. Sounds simple and beautiful.

In southern California, I find my life is SO busy. I know that this is a choice I make, a choice that often I’m driven to make. I need to make my appointments, to catch up with old friends, to work on some jewelry, to plan this ritual, to work on my book, or work on educating a new online teacher. I need to re-organize all my digital information for the Coven. I know I’ve taken on too many responsibilities, and I think I need to relax more (Here is where my husband would say- “ya think?). I haven’t allowed myself a lot of introspective time- I always want my brain to be busy… I even read in the shower. when I should be relaxing (but I DO enjoy it). I put a lot of pressure on myself to make a difference. To do a great job, and to REALLY make a difference for people in some positive way, whether its at work, or online, or for friends. Now I don’t have delusions of grandeur, but I really think I can make a difference or help, sometimes. But as I write this, I realize that in order to be able to do that, I really need to help myself.

So, here are MORE mid-year resolutions!

1. To relax more often and use that introspective time to learn more about myself and my personal connection with Her
2. To not force myself to work on projects/hobbies
3. To not compare myself to others with similar projects/hobbies (I always always always find fault with myself)
4. To not be competitive with my peers, friends and family. No one is BETTER than I am. I am no BETTER than they are. I am just me.
5. To not stress out, and manage my sense of urgency when it comes to projects- everything doesn’t need to be done right this very second!
6. To focus on reading tarot……………………

Wait! Scratch #6. No more projects for now. Not until I can relax and restore a little bit of balance. The weirdest thing about it, though, is that I FEEL balanced. Being overscheduled creates this false sense of balance in me, as I feel like everything is perfect if I’m always busy doing something. When really, pre-childbearing, I should be relaxing as much as I can. I know once I have kids, my life will drastically change.

So- in order to alleviate my stress and get to the ‘temple priestess’ place, I think I’m going to do the following things to help me reach those resolution/goals starting July 1:

1. Only work on jewelry for fun- don’t feel like you HAVE to add new things to your site.
2. Stop reading in the shower. Seriously. Let your brain actually unwind.
3. Remember that you are who you are. You have a happy family , a wonderful husband, and that’s more than a lot of people have. There is no BETTER.
4. Not take on any new projects for at least a month
5. Remember that I’m JUST a project admin- the world won’t end if I don’t visit the message board every single day
6. Don’t take things too seriously. Relax.

And June rolls on... (aka My Poor Husband)

And June rolls on...

I'm finally living a hive-free life (hope I didn't jix it), an over my cold and am just dealing with the dregs of allergies. My husband, however- not so much. Last night, we had to go to Urgent Care, because he was having kidney pain. Yep- you guessed it! Kidney stones! So, they gave him a Demerol shot, and a Rx and sent him home with a little cup to pee in. The cup has a screen in it. It's really weird.




I told him he should tweet a photo of the one stone he already has passed. He said that was wrong.I laughed my ass off, and tweeted (of course) to get my friends' thoughts on posting kidney stone photos. These are the responses so far.

JenTucker: @ivyartemisia I'm with your husband on this one
NoixdeeCoco: @ivyartemisia That would be wrong, but I personally think medical stuff is cool. XD So I say rock on. (
bloodrose80: @ivyartemisia DARNIT (Mr. Ivy)!!! TAKE A PICTURE AND TWEET IT!!!!

My favorite is Heathers.
hearsegirl: @ivyartemisia he should have it set in silver and wear it around his neck. I have spoken. how many carats?

I feel so bad for him. He had these once before, in 1997. I also feel a little bad for me. How the hell am I supposed to pack up the rest of the house and get it all moved and sorted out by myself. I took care of all of my hard stuff already, because I figured, Hubby's at home, and can take care of the rest of things this week. And I wanted to just chill and relax a bit, after being so sick. Hah! The Gods laugh at my pre-planning! Screw you, Ivy, with your Virgo-ness! It doesn't matter what you do, after all!

Anyway, he's drinking water like a banshee! I don't know why I said that. It makes no sense whatsoever. But he is drinking a lot of water.

Tonight is the regular Wednesday night extravaganza at my mom's house. Every Wednesday night, my immediate female family and cousins come over to hang out. We take turns cooking every Wednesday- and we all have such different cooking styles, we get to try some different things. Some of us prepare more "foodie" stuff, and some of us (me) sometimes end making bean and cheese burritos! Anyway, its really nice to hang out with my sister, mom, and all my girl cousins. Tonight, we have two more cousins coming- 2 boys- and they are probably swimming at my moms as I type this. Lucky little brats. Just kidding, they are nice kids- but I'd much rather be there, than here.

Monday evening was the Dark/New moon which means emotional time for me. Add that to the worst. period. ever, and I'm one oversensitive witchypoo right now. I love the new moon... but about every other new moon, I'm so emotionally out of whack, its hard to focus enough to Work. Monday would have been a good time to analyse the energy of my new temple space (its the room with the creepiest vibe in the house), but it just didn't happen. Oh well, I'll do a little research and reschedule that. It definitely will need some sage and a good word, or two. Maybe even three.

Recipes for Litha/ Midsummer/ Summer Solstice

These are two recipes for the potluck items I brought to circle this past weekend. Thought I'd share. :)

Ivy’s “Bomb-Ass” Midsummer Salad
One package of romaine salad
One package of spinach salad
One package of blueberries
One package of blackberries
One package of candied pecans
Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing
One package of Feta or Bleu cheese
2 cups of chopped chicken breast

Rinse, drain and then mix all salad and berries together in a large bowl.
Add chicken and pecans. Dress with the raspberry vinaigrette. Sprinkle with cheese to taste.
I like to serve this with pieces of baguette.


Ivy’s Solstice Sangria
One package of raspberries
One package of blackberries
One apple
One package of strawberries
Four bottles of Rose’ wine

Rinse all berries. Take the raspberries, and blackberries, and drop them into a large “sun tea” type jar. Chop up half of the apple, and add to the jar, along with chopped strawberries. Add the Rose wine, seal and refrigerate overnight. The “Sun Tea” type jar is great because it already has a spigot- making it easy for party guests to help themselves!

Litha Circle 2009

This Litha, we partnered with another circle for ritual, and it went fabulous. Our circle centered around self-love, and it was a great experience. After the circle, sangria was consumed, our potluck feast was eaten, and we had a little bit of drumming. Aislin taught us all a wonderful chant she learned on a Midsummers evening long ago.

Elemental Chant

Chorus:
Behold, there is magic all around you
Behold, there is magic all around you
Behold, there is magic all around you
Awaken, rejoice and sing.

I am the air within you,
I am the breath of life within you,
I am the breeze blowing through you
I am all that I am

*chorus*

I am the fire within you,
I am the spark of life within you,
I am the flame burning through you,
I am all that I am.

*chorus*

I am the water within you,
I am the well of life within you,
I am the wave moving through you,
I am all that I am.

*chorus*

I am the earth within you,
I am the force of life within you,
I am the ground beneath you,
I am all that I am.

*chorus*

Tiny Faeries Trampling on my Uterus

Some days I love being a woman. Being intuitive, emotionally connected, curvy, female. I’m happy to see beauty in everything- from flowers, to the color of the sky, and even in my screensaver.

Today is not one of those days. I’m on my period. And trust me- any men who may read this- it’s not like the Always commercials. It’s not a “happy period.” Whoever came up with the phrase “have a happy period” MUST have been a man. For there is NO woman in the world who can embrace her femininity with a giant smile on her face while it feels like someone is stabbing her in the gut repeatedly. Or crying for no serious reason. Or gaining weight because she’s bloated. What exactly is happy about that, again?

Oh, that’s right. Our bodies embrace this because we are lucky enough to be able to carry life. And THIS is something I can get on board with. I’m really looking forward to having children, and I embrace and appreciate the fact that my body is getting ready for this. After all, I don’t have regular periods, so when it does come, it comes with a freaking vengeance- to make up for all the months I got to miss. So, I understand that maybe my body has realized that I want some kidlings, but really- it’s frickin’ killing me this month. Of course, it must come during the busiest month I’ve had. With moving, planning a few events, work being crazy, etc. of course it would stand to reason that I’d be dealing with Niagra Falls and faries using my uterus as a trampoline-bounce house. Along with constant spontaneous breakouts of hives, and the cold from hell. Oh, and now I have allergies? Awesomesauce. This really isn’t supposed to be a ‘poor me’ type of post, but let me tell you- I am so ready for this month to end!

I already decided that after the move I am going to get a luxurious pedi, and I’m going to spend every weekend morning out in the sun, next to the pool. With a mimosa or something.

My mid-year resolution!

Well, my mid-year resolution is to write more. All kinds of writing- any kind of writing! From lessons, to articles to even blog posts. So, included in this is my desire to post more on my blog- use it as an introspective tool, post photos I take, etc. So, let's start now.

Here's a random photo of my new niece. The photo is about a month old, but she's so beautiful in the little butterfly jumper I bought for her! I never realized I could love a little person so much!




She is the cutest baby ever, and looks SO much like my little sister did when she was little. Cutest. Baby. Evah.

May flew by!

Well, I know I haven't posted lately. Life has been pretty hectic and stressful, especially work. We are getting ready to move into my in-laws house next month, so I'm trying to save boxes, and check on storage sites. We're storing our whole kitchen and dining areas, but I'll get my own craft/temple room. I'm very excited. About that part. About sharing space again... that will be weird. But we'll have a lot of space to make 'our own,' so it will probably work out better than it does in my brain.

This weekend is the end of May. How the heck did it fly by so fast? The only notable thing that happened (besides an awesome Beltane circle- check my groups blog for photos soon) is that I went to a crop with a great friend and co-worker! It was really fun- the people were really nice and they fed us really well! I highly recommend Custom Impressions in Bellflower, CA.

I've began a digital organization of all of the coven stuff- info, degree stuff, the BoS, everything. I want it all organized, so once I move, I can hand it over and be able to have it organized for whomever steps in my role. I found a great program for this and think I'm going to start using it, if I do take over the CoT manager role (rather than just being tech manager) at MW.

The CoT at MW is having some serious forum issues, which is preventing the classes from really running, as no one can really communicate with one another. I hope that it gets worked out ASAP (its out of my hands, and has been) because I am also working on turning my Wicca 101 classes into something that can be taught online. But it won't be an easy Wicca 101 class- it will be a pretty difficult online class. Like my spellcrafting class, a lot of thinking and DOING is required. And W101 will take a lot of time, because much of the discussion and activities that take place in real time usually, will be taking place on and offline. Online classes are given such a bad name by those who just repost information and ask a few questions. Mine are meant to make one think, and get off the computer and go DO. I actually thought about opening up some sort of forum to teach my classes, as I'd rather be able ... shoot- husband is nagging me to get ready to leave. More later.