I've started a new blog over at blog spot. I'm not leaving this journal completely, my intention is to put personal stuff here and informative stuff at the new blog. I'll be transferring over old stuff from this blog to the new one:

Domestic Witch

I feel kinda bad, like I'm being disloyal to LJ, but there are some things I like better about blogspot and many of my favorite blogs are on blogspot.

Money in the bank
Membership to the YMCA
Good Health
New Camera
Shabby Chic home

Treasure Cookies

1 ½c graham cracker crumbs
½c all purpose flour
2t baking powder
14oz sweetened condensed milk
½c butter, softened
1 ½c flaked coconut
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1c walnuts, beaten until near oblivion

• Mix, form into balls and bake at 350 degree until done.
• Makes 6 dozen

A couple weeks ago, November 19th actually, I got to be apart of Raven's delivery of Trinity Lynn. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. Completely different than when I had Angelus c-section and never even felt a labor contraction. Raven had Trinity Lynn al natural and being there was, wow. There are just no words for how precious it was! Robert was on one side of Raven and I was on the other and we held Raven’s legs and helped her push. It was surreal to look down to see "how things we going" and find Trinity Lynn's head was suddenly was there, sticking out. haha It was funny, I couldn't help but say "Oh my gods, it's her head!" .

Well to be honest, Raven didn't need much help; she pushed Trinity out in just over 20 minutes like it was nothing. She’s the strong, silent type. Raven probably could have done it all by herself but she was just being nice to let people help. I think Raven was worried that it was gross to watch, but it wasn’t at all. I even got to check out the placenta. Robert and I almost had the nurse convinced to let them take it home! I always wanted to have my placenta to use in a tree ritual for Angelus, marking the tree as his magical tree. Or the ya-ya's could use them to open a placenta bar and never age like the Aunts. hee hee

The photo of me holding Trinity is sweet because I can see the cord from the Binding of the Wrists ritual from Raven Blessing Way for Trinity Lynn and my "Mother's Ring" from Angelus.

From women we were born into this circle,
from women we were born unto this earth

Oh and to top it all off, I was the top of the phone tree! hahaha! I got to be the one to activate the phone tree when Raven gave birth. I felt so special.


Trinity Lynn was the sweetest shade of pink, Robert cried nearly the whole time and Raven just sat back like the beautiful Dark Goddess that she is and brought life into the world….

Thanksgiving was one of the best in a long time. We have a ton of fun house hopping, taking home leftovers and not doing any of the work! We ended up at Dad's until 1am playing scene it and poker and then when back over on Saturday to play his new Wii. Ed and I spent the rest of the long weekend on the couch watching all five Harry Potter movies and we finally finished the Order of the Phoenix book.



This Week..
Wednesday: Volunteering at Penrickton Center with Pagan Center
Thursday: Ornament exchange with Julie’s family.
Friday: Ed's work holiday party at the Atheneum downtown
Saturday Morning: Chop down the Christmas tree with Dad's clan and hopefully Julie's clan.
Saturday Evening: Pagan Center Kids Yule Party. Rick will make an appearance again as Santa.
Sunday: Christmas tree and home decorating!

Next year, no matter what Christmas does not start until after Thanksgiving. I must remember this!

We are house hoping this year for Thanksgiving, I feel like Lorelei and Rory in Gilmore Girls' A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving. We have three dinners to consume, but I will not forgo the rolls! Instead of half eaten chocolate Turkeys, I’m giving our hosts scented candles. I picked up some American Made on clearance at Meijer. Mocha Latte, apple spice, warm caramel corn..yumm… they should smell savory.

I’d like to make a breakfast casserole for Thanksgiving morning to eat while we watch the parade. We had once last year Kelly made us and it was really good. But we might go downtown to watch the parade, those plans are on the fence.

1pm Mom’s Dinner
3pm Ed’s Aunt Zona’s Dinner
5pm Dad’s Dinner

We’ll spend most of the evening at dad’s planning Scene It with Joe and Julie. It should be a really fun day!

Finally a dream realized! I've wanted to create an online source to share my knowledge of how to shop for American Made products, and I've finally got it started! Not so easy with a toddler, thank you Ed for giving me a free morning!

Please add my new blog as your friend and please advertise for me on your journal! HUGS AND KISSES!


American Made

Peppermint Oil on the windows keeps away unwelcome guests.

Books that you need to read appear when you need them too. I'd really like to draw this ability to me. Like a premonition or omen, a manual to an undiscovered skill set, an answer to a question, whatever I need. I can do that. I'm officially putting it "out there", when I need to read a book, it will magically be there.

And red is my magic color

I am overcome with joy, hope and pride in America.

For the first time in 12 years, since I started voting, Obama talks and I actually want to listen. I've never voted for a president that has won, usually I vote third party and I haven't given two shits about anyone who has run. I figured that voting third party might strike a trend that we're not happy with that way things are. Did it work? Obama is different. Instead of knocking McClain down he built himself up. He comes from nothing, I can relate to that. I've never related to a president before, it sounds ludicrous, but now its reality. He talks and I feel hopeful.

And I'm so proud that race did not play a role in the voting numbers. The only demographic category that really stood out was age. That is so amazing.

Wow, just wow.

		I will marry Benicio Del Toro.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in The Swamp in our fabulous House.
		We will have 3 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a mustard yellow Deathstar.
		I will spend my days as a rock star, and live happily ever after.

Ed and I are almost finished with Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheniox. We'll re-watch the movie, hopefully, on or before Thanksgiving. The November Pagan Center Book Club read is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, I've got that hold at the library. I wasn’t able to get that on audio, I'm a little nervous cause it's 300 pages. Can I make time to read? It's in the works to become a movie in 2011 so I'll have to give it the old college try. I'll also have The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen to catch up on from the June Pagan Center Book Club read. I loved Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen and I've put off the Sugar Queen until now because the books takes plces mostly in November (so I'm told). I have this thing about reading and watching seasonal stories in the correct season.

Then in December Ed and I have A Christmas Carol by Dickens. Something we've talked about all year, listening to a holiday classic. The movie to follow, naturally.

January brings something dreadfully exciting! The third book in the Wicked series! A Lion Among Men. I just can’t wait!! Well, I can wait till January, but I am excited. Let hope it’s better than Son of a Witch. And Gods please don’t let Gregory Maguire be the reader on the audio book. Just because the man can write, doesn’t mean he can read.

31 days of Halloween: October 22nd - 31st

October 22nd

Built a Scarecrow....

October 23rd

that fell down..and keep falling down.

October 24th

Hosted the Gathering of the Dead at my house to honor those who have dead, have a feast in the honor and do some divination. My favorire form of Divination, as a group, is The Messanger.

Light the shadows,
open the book,
the ability to see
and the wisdom to know where to look.

Everyone writes down a question on a piece of paper and puts it folded into the center of the circle. Then in turn everyone takes a question, not knowing who’s question it is and then answers the question by thinking of a place, a person and a message. The basic concept is that the super-conscious knows the question and the answer; you're taking your conscious mind out of the equation and allowing the answer to come through your subconscious. Because the subconscious deals in symbols, you have to decipher the answer by thinking symbolically.

October 25th

Fixed our scarecrow for good this time. The lights on the inside glow green at night.

October 26th

Picked out our Pumpkins

October 27th

Crossed the time space continuum and did the monster mash with Boris.

October 28th

Watched "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". Man, Lucy is a bitch!

October 29th

Carved our Pumpkins

October 30th

Watched the Legend of Sleepy Hollow

October 31st

We went Trick or Treating with Raven, Robert, Moonstone and their kids in Raven's pretty little Victorian town Marine City.

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

I did this with a bunch of photos and Beyonce came up the most, ha!

Our Gathering of the Dead altar was so beautiful this year.











Altar includes photos of dead loves one, homemade corn husk dollies symbolizing dead loved one, photos of some famous people who passed this year, and an offering of Pan de Muerto and tobacco. Also honored the transition of dead with symbolic items: the crow, death tarot cards and skull.

31 days of Halloween: October 15th - 21st

October 15th

Watched Hocus Pocus! A Muck, a Muck, a muck!

October 16th

Thought about planting bulbs, but didn't.

October 17th

Attended Hallowe'en in Greenfield Village, which has 800 hand-carved jack-o-lanterns light the way through the village of fun and spooky attractions. Angelus was scared by a scarecrow who jumped out, but quickly made friends after he took off his mask. We witnessed the headless horseman, on horseback, naturally. Lots and lots of cools stuff. My favorite is the fog ridden covered bridge. We brought along a thermo of real hot chocolate, never mind that instant garbage.

Hot Cocoa

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 dash salt
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In medium saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa and salt; stir in water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Add milk; stirring constantly, heat to serving temperature. Do not boil. Remove from heat; add vanilla.

October 18th

Attending the 2008 Michigan Witches Ball. Here I am (in red) with Queen MoonStone-Opal

October 19th

Played football in the fallen leaves. Ok, so it's not Halloween related, but it'll work.

October 20th

Thought about planting bulbs again.... nope.

October 21th

Introduced Angelus to Alf, watched the episode when Alf tries to go trick or treating.

31 days of Halloween: October 8th - 14th

October 8th

My October altar
Depending on your tradition, Halloween is also known as November Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, Third Harvest, Hallows, All Hallows and Samhain.

In days of old, it was the time of year where animals were slaughtered to thin out the herds, storing up meat for use during the harsh winter months, and thinning the herds out so that they may survive the harsh months as well. This is also the final harvest of the year when the very last of the crops are brought in and put up for the winter.

It is a time for planning for the future.
It is a time for disposing of weaknesses and undesired traits.
It is a time for divination, for remembering and looking within.
It is a time to remember friends and loved ones who have died and passed beyond the veil.
In this time the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest.

It is traditional to leave out plates of food for the souls of the dead. Placing a candle in the window will help to guide them to the lands of the eternal. Burying apples feeds them on their journey to the other side.

October 9th

We were Ghosted by the Pagan Center Ghost! A late night knock at the door scared me as it does every year, but we quickly discovered the trick was a bag full of treats: pumpkin body bars, spider kitchen towels, candy and munchies, a book for Angelus called "The Biggest Pumpkin Ever", a witches hat cookie cutter and more all in a pumpkin tote bag!

October 10th

Planted Mums

October 11th

Jessica and I took Angelus to the Taylor Autumn Fair. Ed was at home sick with some homemade chicken noodle soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole chicken
2 heads of celery cleaned and separated
2 onions, peeled and cut in half
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 bay leaves
1tb each pepper, basil, cilantro
Salt to taste
4 cups carrots, chopped
Large egg noodles

Boil cleaned chicken with a little over half of the of the celery, all the onions, garlic, bay leaves and spices until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the chicken, set aside.

Strain the juice of all remaining solids and discard solids. Keep the juice/stock.

Remove the chicken meat from the bird and put back into the stock. Cut into smaller pieces if necessary. Do not use the chicken’s skin.

Add the remaining celery (chopped) and carrots to the stock and cook the carrots are tender.

Add noodles and cook until al dente. Al dente noodles will be less like to turn to mush when soup is reheated.


Then back at home I made Raven's Samhain Bars

Samhain Bars

Bars:
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cups pumpkin
1 cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Mix the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.
• Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.
• Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake each for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

• To make the icing: Mix the cream cheese and butter. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

October 12th

Enjoyed treats from my Halloween candy bar

October 13th

I've been reading many of the October entries in my Simple Abundance book. October 13th's entry was really good. Learning about your shadow, your darker self, the face you try to hide. Your “Mr. Hyde”. Sarah Ban Breathnach (author) encourages you to walk in your shadow a bit and find out what makes you shadow tick. In the book, Sarah relates her shadow to a character on TV and I'd say that's something my friends and I have done as Ya-Ya's. In the book "The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood", the characters are full of faults, shortcomings and shameful behavior. My friends and I have embraced those imperfections and I agree with the Simple Abundance approach that it is important to discovering your authenticity. I'd also include Elphaba of "Wicked: The life and Time of the Witch of the West" as a model for my alter ego, driven to madness and rash behavior for validity, justice, and sense of self.

October 14th

Halloween Music Compilation
This is Halloween by Panic! At the Disco
Witchy Woman by The Eagles
Psycho Theme
Werewolves Of London by Warren Zevon
The Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show
Thiller by Michael Jackson
The Mummers Dance by Loreena Mckennitt
Double Bouble Toil N' Trouble from Harry Potter
Monster Mash
All Hollows Eve by Type O Negative
Witchcraft by Frank Sinatra
Frankenstein by Edgar Winters Group
The Munsters Theme
I Put A Spell On You by Bette Midler from Hocus Pocus
Bad Moon Rising by Creedance Clearwater Revival
I Put A Spell On You by Creedance Clearwater Revival
Spooky by Mike Sharpiro
Addams Family Theme

Tags: angelus, books, ed, food, halloween, jessica, music, pagan center, raven, recipe, tarot, ya-ya

The weather is warm and sunny today. I've opened the up the windows, let the sunshine in. I turned on my Practical Magic soundtrack, poured a cup of coffee and began to heal myself by cleaning and organizing my kitchen.

I did a little research on Kitchen Witchery and was not surprised but reassured by aspects of other Kitchen Witches that I have in common.

I have a window herb garden of parsley, thyme, basil, rosemary and chives. I have dried sage and lemon balm hanging. These are common culinary herbs, but also have magical strength.

Basil for protection
Parsley for sexual passion
Thyme for love
Rosemary for remembrance
Sage for wisdom
Lemon Balm for success

Chives, interestingly enough, guards against witchcraft and removes bad feelings. In other words, it’s antidote against personal intuition and insight.

An aloe plant for burns - magical or mundane.

A quartz crystal placed on my stove makes food taste better.

I learned there is such a thing as a Kitchen Witch doll and I actually have one! I found it treasure hunting years ago but I never knew exactly where to put her. I didn’t think to put her in the kitchen. She officially has a place of her own now.


A Kitchen Blessing
Blessed be this kitchen of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
Friends and family, gather ‘round,
Be warmed by the sacred light of this hearth.
May all that is created here by means both magical and mundane,
Bring nourishment, healing, sustenance, and happiness.
So mote it be


Tools of A Kitchen Witch
BLENDER: Mingling with others, stirring up energy
COOKBOOK: Book of Shadows, Excellence, Virtue
FORK: Piercing, Penetrating, Perception
FUNNEL: Flow, Unhindered order, coaxing energy along
KNIFE: Cutting away, Sharpness of mind, Separation
MEASURING CUP: Evaluation, Allotment, Caution
PITCHER: Abundance, Invigoration, Refreshment
ROLLING PIN: Discipline, Moderation, Control
SIFTER: Sorting out confusion, Organization, Filtering negativity
SPATULA: Sensibility, Recycling, Changing directions
STEAMER: Slow processes, Even temperament
TEA KETTLE: Divination, Alertness, Kinship, Health
WHISK: Excitement, Increasing bounty
Borrowed from and modified from “A Kitchen Witch’s Cookbook”

French woman suck too.

Talked with Jessica about it a lot yesterday, Kelly and Luna too. I'm gonna try something new: common sense.

I'm in admiration of those who appear to live without guilt. It seems I can do nothing for self is not at too high of a price of others. I can make no choice without doubt and hesitation. These choices will haunt me for years, as the small but memorable choices of years past haunt me today. My needs are meet are at the expense of others.

I want to live free from my own minds ridicule.

Following the principles of the French woman’s diet and lifestyle, eating for pleasure, I’ve been given the following advice for subtle changes to introduce into my life.

First I’m to identify my offenders, the foods that I over indulge in and set my life out of balance. I’ve identified my offenders are coffee, sweets and processed foods. The book suggests either removing these foods for three months or reducing them little by little. This helps me vary my diet and learn to appreciate the offenders as a treat, not a staple. I’m not a big fan of deprivation, nor is the book, so I’ve decided to reduce my intake for the next three months

Coffee is an offender for me because of the amount of sugar I put in it. I’m toning down to 1 cup a day, with the exception of Tuesday and Thursday when I eat breakfast with Guila. The nice this about this book is that you really have to tailor it to your life and schedule, no one plan works for everyone. The book really discourages calorie counting, but I wanted to know so I did the math: my typical cup of coffee is 265 calories. Reducing to one a day saves a lot. I’m also going to slowing reduce the amount of sugar I put into my coffee, just a little less each day until I can’t reduce it anymore without scrimping on taste. Taste is important, the book encourages it!

Sweets are certainly my biggest offender. I’m toning down to one sweet a day now and reevaluate in a while. The sweet should be of satisfying proportion. The first few bites have the biggest taste impact, so stopping after that is a good idea. About 4 or 5 oz is a guideline, but using my best judgment depending on the food. My sweet today was pumpkin butter pancakes. I reduced the amount of syrup I normally use in half and I was still completely, utterly satisfied.

Processed foods are my last offender. The book asks its reader to stop eating them too, even if they are not something you over indulge. French take great joy in preparing their food homemade, I want that too. But there’s no replacing Velveeta shells and cheese or remain noodles! As much as I might admire the European diets, I’m still American. But I don’t need the toxic ingredients overloading my diet. I’m reducing processed foods to one every other day for now and reevaluate in a while

So far I’ve saved over $100 in my carrot fund!

More to come later...