My Home, My Rules, and My Wayward Daughter

Dear Miss Sierra Belle,

One day, far in the future, perhaps you'll read this. Sometime in your lifetime there will be endless web pages created by parents that will become a written record of the small moments of your life you'd otherwise forget. So here it is, today's record.

I had to punish you today. Not because of a need to be mean or even strict. I really hate to discipline you. However as children often do, you leave your mom and dad no choice.

See today when you left the house without your glasses because you woke up late for school, I thought I'd be a nice mom and bring them to you. I know how you can't see the chalkboard without them, and I don't want your education to suffer just because of your sight.

So as soon as I had someone to watch your brother for a few minutes, I drove to your school and found you in the gymnasium. Your back was turned to me, so at first I just saw your lovely self talking with a group of friends. Then I tapped you on your shoulder and handed you your glasses with a smile and a hello. That is when my heart dropped. I knew, in that moment, I would have to be a mean mom today.

That red lipstick I let you buy with your allowance, the one I specifically told you not to wear outside of the house, was on your lips. You have many other shades of lipstick and lip gloss except weird colors. A light pink would have looked lovely on you. I know the need to feel beautiful and I don't believe a little light makeup at your age (which is 10 btw) is inappropriate. However since you feel the need to disobey me, I must become strict like my mother.

You see at your age, I was not allowed makeup at all. I thought I was being the "cool" parent by allowing a little makeup. It is makeup after all. No big deal right? Wrong. Makeup should be tastefully done, and that bright red is like an advertisement for all men to say "Look at me, I'm more grown than I really am."

I was going to do the discipline myself. However as I sat here throughout the day, I realized I always am the one to discipline you. So I decided, as a daddies girl, perhaps it's better that your father be in charge of carrying out the punishment.

So when you came home, I grabbed your backpack and pulled all makeup out of it. Turns out you had the red lipstick in your pocket which is a sure bet you knew it was forbidden IMO. I also brought the rest of your makeup into the living room. Then your father proceeded to tell you that if you can't follow the rules, you don't get to have any makeup.

Then the order came from him. You must throw away all makeup. Even the lip gloss. Yep, that one I probably wouldn't have made you do, but it's your fathers choice and I stand by his decision.

You cried, you screamed, you probably want to hate us. But in the end, you'll thank us.

We love you darling daughter of mine. You have no idea how much you are like me when I was your age. Except I had to hide all of my makeup, because my mother wasn't "cool" enough to allow light colors.

For my mother, I just had to call you because yes, we have come full circle. I am certainly getting back what I dished out!

Your loving mother,

SWC

Blue Moons Powerful Energy Boosted by Hurricane Isaac

We're coming up on a very powerful time in the year. Not only because of the moon but because of weather events as well. On the 31st we will have a blue moon, which just means we have an extra full moon in our calendar year. This only happens every 2 or so years. Hence why they call it "once in a blue moon".

This is a great time to work on any spell that is going to take a long time to come to fruition. If you're working on your finances, school, or other life long changes, this is a powerful time to do this kind of spell work.

However Hurricane Isaac is on it's way, and for those of us in the northern part of the county it shouldn't hit us until Friday evening, Saturday, and maybe a little bit Sunday. Which means that the energy of the storm is going to be mixing with the energy of the blue moon. It's an especially chaotic time of high energy.

Weather magick always gives me an "energy high". You should always ground during any magickal work, however grounding is very important with weather magick because the energy is raw and chaotic. Without grounding you may feel a bit light headed, dizzy, and you'll just be flinging out energy with no real direction for it to go. Needless to say a lot of magical oops can happen during this time if you are not careful.

So for those who plan on doing a blue moon ritual, you may find yourself needing a little more time to ground. During the ritual keep a stone or a bit of sand in your hands or pocket. Or if you have a small pouch put some soil in it and wear around your neck. As always, make sure your purpose is clear and precise to avoid any magickal mistakes.

Do you have plans for what you'll be doing during the blue moon? I will once again be teaching my daughter about ritual, and she'll be helping me set up the altar. Since we are facing some large changes in our life (Possibly moving and beginning the K-12 online school for DD) I'll be focusing on our financial life as well as giving thanks for all we have.

Leaping Forward & Altars around small children.

I don't want to say things are definite yet, but I see light at the end of the tunnel! If you've been a long time reader of my blog you know that we live with my MIL. She is a nice woman, but living so close is, to put it mildly, a huge irritation. Since my husbands employment with Goodwill we have been saving to move, albeit slowly. I received a call and had a meeting the other day with the apartment manager, and I think we have an apartment that we can afford. To my understanding, they are cleaning up the apartment and doing some repairs. I should hear back from them within a week or two. It sounds like once that's done it is ours, but until I have the keys in hand I'm not calling it mine yet.

The downside is that my daughter would have to change schools, and the school in this district is rated poorly by the state. My options are limited. I could drive her to her current school, which is not the best but is rated better according to state rankings. Or perhaps do the K-12 program. 

Do you have any experience with the K-12 program? I'd love to hear your opinions on enrolling your child.

Of course this chance to have our own space leads to dreaming about how I'm going to decorate it. In the past I've not really "decorated". Our version of home decoration was to allow our daughter to make pictures which ranged from early childhood scribbles to nice pictures and hang them on the wall. They were beautiful to us because it was our daughters artwork, not so beautiful to visitors though.

I'd like to make an extra effort to make sure our home look nice on a low income budget. This is a new beginning after all. I'd also like to keep a few small altars out. In the past I've kept our altar packed away and take out when needed. That was the result of having a small child who liked to get into everything. Of course, I have a toddler son now so that concern has not changed.

My only other option I can think of is hanging altars. I know I'll keep one beside the door. Perhaps a hanging basket you would use for plants would work for my purposes. I don't particularly like to keep altars up high, but I feel the need for permanently set up altars instead of my temporary ones.

If you have small children and have open altars, how do you make it safe for small children? I'd love any more ideas and pictures if you'd like to share.

Need a little Sunshine Today

Well if there was any day where sunshine was the elixir for all my ills, today would be it. Last week I had blood drawn for a thyroid test. Doc and I both think I have hypothyroidism. She told me this past Monday the results should be in. So I waited till 4 and then couldn't wait any longer. I am horrible with patience! So I call them and ask if my thyroid test was done. She puts me on hold and comes back to say she has to make an appointment with the doc to hear the results. So I say OK, appointment made for today.

I get to the office early because I'm an habitual early appointment keeper. I can't help it I always think I'm going to be late and end up arriving early. So here I am with two kids who are cranky and hungry and getting into trouble, waiting in this tiny room with no clock and nothing to do. I did bring a toy for Wyatt and Sierra had her MP3 player, but they quickly tired of those.

Come to find out they only have a portion of the results back. My sugar was elevated but that's because no one told me to fast before the test. They took my sugar again today and it's fine.

All the while, I think we waited close to 3 hours to find out they don't have all the tests and I shouldn't have even come in to begin with. Dammit! So I'm frustrated and cranky and the kids are too. I'm also still impatient to know the results.

So on to the sunshine. I'm sure if you follow a lot of blogs you've come across the Sunshine Award. Book of Mirrors nominated me. She's a lovely outspoken lady who I've followed since the beginning of my blogging career. I highly recommend her blog. So here goes.

1. If you are nominated, you must blog a post linking back to the person/blog that nominated you.
2. You must answer some questions, nominate ten fellow bloggers and link their blogs to the post!
3. You should comment on your nominees’ blogs to let them know you’ve nominated them.

The Questions:
1. Who is your favorite philosopher?   I'm not really big on philosophers. However in high school we had to learn about some famous philosophers and Confucius really stuck out to me. One of my favorite quotes of his is, The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance.


2. What is your favorite number? People have favorite numbers? I don't. If I had to choose, two. Because I'm a romantic and I love stories of happy couples. :)

3. What is your favorite animal? Well I love a lot of animals. Like Book of Mirrors, tigers are a favorite of mine. But I was raised with horses. They are in my blood, heart and soul. I wouldn't be me without the experiences I have had with them.

4. What are your Facebook and Twitter URLs? I signed up for Twitter one time but didn't like it so abandoned it. I don't give out my personal FB account. However you can like Salem's Creations page on Facebook. Every post of mine is added there automatically, and I'd love to get some discussions going on the page. I've tried before but no one ever responds! Talk people, I won't bite. ;)


5. What is your favorite time of day? Dusk. That moment where the sun is almost gone and the moon is rising, I love that time. It's just a very peaceful moment each day for me.

6. What was your favorite vacation?
I don't really take vacations. But I greatly enjoyed our day trip to the Newport Aquarium. I want to go back sometime soon. Another animal I love are sharks!

7. What is your favorite physical activity? Walking my dog, preferably in the evening just before dusk. :)

8. Favorite non-alcoholic drink? Pepsi, but since I breastfeed I don't drink it very often. I stick to non-caffeinated drinks like Cherry 7up or tea.

9. What is your favorite flower? It use to be a red rose. However, lately I've seen this blue orchid at the grocery store I'd love to take home with me. So I'm going to say orchid. :)

10. What is your passion? I have many passions. Creative outlets like sewing, writing, clay sculpting, crochet. Then other passions like breastfeeding rights, Keeping sons intact, and many other parenting related topics.


Who I nominate for the Sunshine Award.

1. Pagan Dad : This Pagan daddy is a great writer and best of all he makes me think with his topics. We don't always agree, but I respect his integrity and wit. 
2. Mummy Nummies : No one said this has to be a Pagan blog award. So I'd like to nominate this lovely and helpful mommy. She's probably single handedly educated thousands of woman on breastfeeding. I know she's helped me a lot with her FB page and group. Thank you Jackie for all you do!
3. Aoibheal's Lair : Here's a faerie witch with always something interesting to share with us.
4. The Faerie Whisperer : Here's another faerie witch with lots to say on magical workings.
5. Crafty Sandi : From one crafty lady to another, crafty Sandi is one of my favorite blogs and a must read. I was lucky enough to try out her foot scrub and it is awesome!  Check out her Etsy store, the Enchanted Garden,  too!

I know this asks for 10, but that's all the time I have for this busy momma. But I follow a lot of wonderful blogs so check out the links to the right and if you have a blog button you'd like me to add, just leave me a message below!

Have a very sunshine and rainbows day. 

My brothers and sisters, today I'd like to talk about a people who have been in my heart for a long time now. The Sioux nation is once again loosing a part of their sacred land. I invite you to read about it here and give if you can.

Pe' Sla is sacred land because the LaKota believe this land is the center and heart of everything that is. Even with all our financial troubles, I felt it important to help this cause. I've donated $5 today. Take a look at the website linked below. Listen and read about their plight, and if this is a worthy cause for you, consider donating. Every little bit helps. The minimum donation is $1. $1 buys many things, but nothing so worthy as this.

Thanks,
Blessings Love and Light

Pe' Sla: Help Save Lakota Sioux Sacred Land!

I'm a Proud Witchy Momma

~Magickal Graphics~

Tonight my daughter led a ritual, with our assistance of course. She wrote her own spell, we all set up the alter together, and each one of us spoke our own words. It's also the first time I've used my homemade Cernunnos and Isis statues in a ritual, and I'm very happy with them. I think the deities are too. I would take a picture of the alter but the last time I did that I think I pissed off a spirit. So I'm not doing that again while the candle burns.
It's very rewarding to share my witchy knowledge with the next generation and see my daughter take pride in her witchy work.

What have you accomplished lately?

Our BOS & Isis!

Sorry I've been a little quiet lately. I assure you I'm not sitting on my bum doing nothing. OK I am sitting on my bum but it's for a good cause. After making my Cernunnos out of clay I realized, I really like sculpting! I may not be very good at human features but I do pretty good for my purposes. After all it doesn't have to be perfect, but the energy I put into making it just gives my clay figurines that much more power. I think it's better than going out and buying a Cernunnos and Isis statue. Now I just have to think about what I want to make next. hmm. Suggestions?

Clay Isis. By SalemWitchChild

Here is Isis. Overall I like her, though there are a few things I wish I'd have smoothed over before I allowed her to dry out too much to fix. I made her with an offering cup at the bottom, which as you can see I've yet to take her out of the molded cup because I just finished her today. I'll do that in a couple of days and here's hoping it comes out smoothly! Otherwise I think I owe my MIL some Tupperware. How do you like her?

I've thought about going back and adding the same cup, or maybe one slightly larger, to Cernunnos. We'll see how Isis comes out of the mold first before I go messing around with his design.

I've also been doing my research on Cernunnos. I think most witches and Wiccans have a Book of Shadows. Or at least a journal. I don't specifically call mine a BOS. Instead it's titled "Thoughts, Feelings, and Dreams." I also have poems and other Pagan related information written in here. Yes, a couple spells as well. I'm not a good little witch when it comes to documenting all my witchy stuff. I usually end up writing out rituals on loose paper and burning that paper at the end of the ritual. So for one to make it into my BOS is rare. I also think it's rare for today's modern Pagan to not have his or her rituals on the computer. I guess I'm old fashioned in that I want it on real paper. It doesn't have to be fancy. Mine is just in a normal half sized journal type booklet. I feel more comfortable with a tangible item than typing it all out and saving it on my PC. Probably because like the other day, when my laptop screen bit the dust. I'm using my daughters Netbook for the time being.

Do you keep a written BOS, a computerized BOS, or a little of both? Do you like your own crafted tools better than bought ones?

My Crafty Clay Project

Since Cernunnos came to me this past full moon, I've been researching him and I tackled a crafty clay project. I've never sculpted clay before, and I can't say I'm a great artist. But I think I did pretty good. He is a bit of a bobble head, but I don't suppose that really matters.

I had to change my vision of him over the few days I've been working on him. At first I wanted a smaller version with a base and nature scene in the background. I soon realized I wouldn't get the detail I was after if I made him small. So I opted for a bigger version. Unfortunately he became too big and heavy for the whole scene. So he remains just his head and torso.

So here he is, I'd love to hear what you think about him. My next project may be a bust of Isis.

Cernunnos bust by SalemWitchChild.

No-Poo Solution

So a friend of mine was talking about the No-poo solution. If you do not know what that is, you ditch your old shampoos and use baking soda and water mixture as shampoo. Then you rinse your hair with apple cider vinegar and water mixture as a conditioner.

Because commercial shampoos strip the natural oils of your hair, your body compensates making extra oils. This usually leads to a cycle of dry to oily hair, which I have always had problems with. It also can lead to a dry itchy scalp.

I'm wanting my hair to grow long again. Usually I end up getting frustrated when it stops growing halfway down my back and end up cutting it. So I thought I'd try the No-poo solution last night.

This morning I can see a slight difference in texture and shine. First the positive. The shine is awesome. Not as shiny as say, when I use Pantene. The shine that shampoo gives me is an unnatural shine because of the silicone additive. The Vinegar rinse gave me a healthy, natural glow.

Secondly, the negative. My hair feels heavy like I haven't washed it in days. I don't know if that's because my hair follicles haven't had a chance to adjust yet and stop producing too much oil or not. Or maybe it's just a psychological reaction to not using commercial shampoo. When I run my hands through my hair my fingers get caught because my hair is heavy and feels coarser without the greasy feeling of unwashed hair.

Whatever the issue is, I plan to give it at least 6 weeks before I make a decision on if this is something I am willing to do long term. The plus side is that this costs pennies to make and is a green alternative to commercial shampoo! Yay. I've always had dandruff before so I'm hoping it helps with that too.

Oh and if you are wondering, no my hair does not smell like vinegar out of the shower. The smell dissipates. However if you're worried about the vinegar smell, add a few drops of your favorite scented oil to the vinegar rinse.

Have you tried the No-Poo solution before? How did you like it?

To learn how to make the two washes, watch this video.

Lord Of The Hunt

Tonight while doing a full moon ritual and charging some of my tools, I also asked help in reaping what we've sown. In my spiritual practice I've always included a Lord but his identity remained clouded to me. I've been happy to just keep him a general fatherly energy but otherwise clouded in darkness - until tonight. Tonight he revealed his identity to me. He came forth as Cernunnos, Lord of the Hunt.

Image Source

 Why I kept the Lord a general entity?

Basically because my own father was a dick, and screwed my head up. Going back to little SalemWitchChild at 3 years old, my father decided his own life happiness was more important than his two children. For whatever reason (and there isn't a good enough one ever IMO to abandon your wife and kids) he left without notice. He told my mother he was going to the store and just never returned. Shortly thereafter my mother was penniless and homeless. Now, I don't believe for a second my mother was innocent in all this. I'm pretty sure she was having an affair which is why he left. It still wasn't right that he dodged every attempt to collect child support for 15 more years and kept his distance for fear of having to pay my mother. My only connection to my father during childhood was at my grandparents house. Where every weekend I visited them like clockwork and received a phone call from him. Conversation was painful at best. It always went something like this.

Father: Robin it's your dad.

Me: Hello Father (said as sarcastically as possible)

Father: How are you, is school OK?

Me: Fine (said angrily)

Father: What do you want for your birthday? (Or Christmas, etc...)

Me: Nothing (said in a sullen voice)

Father would then spend the next 10 minutes trying to conjole me into telling him what to buy. As if that could somehow make me love him. Yeah right... Sometimes the conversation stalled, sometimes I angrily hung up on him. Other times I went off on a tirade about how I don't want his money, gifts or anything else and then hung up on him. See how this anger toward males slowly built?

Other male relationships would mess my head up further. As a matter of fact the only man I have ever trusted was my husband, and that trust didn't come easily. So I hope when I say that I kept the masculine deity general, you can see why. 

A few years ago, my father died alone in his semi-truck. You truly reap what you sow in life. Not even his second wife (Illegally married btw. He never divorced my mother) kept him company in death.

Back to Today and Cernunnos, he presented himself as an older man. He had his traditional horns and goat legs of course. I'm willing to try to let him into my heart. I don't believe it will be as easy as it was when I bonded with Isis, but Cernunnos said he'd "teach me to hunt". I took that as meaning to teach me how to be successful in this world. I'm not sure what other lessons he has in store for me, but I have a feeling there will be a lot of challenges.

If your patron God is Cernunnos, what personal stories can you share about him? How has he changed your life?

Fingerpainting with Kids

So we decided to get a little crafty and have some fun today. Directions on how to make this are at the beginning of the video. Enjoy!

A Wish of Good Harvest to You

Well if you're Pagan you probably already know it is the first harvest or Lammas/Lughnasadh. Since my DH was hired at Goodwill we are finally bringing in a little more money. We had to wait a couple of weeks for his first check and since he is paid every two weeks it seemed like forever until he was paid again. Finally we are able to begin saving to move out of MIL's home. This harvest of money is greatly needed in our life.

Kota Blue Storm

We had a slight setback in our savings when my dog Kota (who lives with my mother in KY) needed to go to the vet. She has severe allergies and it was just getting too bad. So she went to the vet where he gave her a steroid shot that she will likely need the rest of her life. I'm hoping once we find a place to live and are able to bring Kota home she won't need it. If she does need it then that's what she'll get. Kota is so much apart of our family. I haven't saw her in so long and I worry she won't even recognize me.

Does anyone Freecycle? About a week ago someone was giving away blackberries. I use to pick blackberries when I was a child for my mother. There was some growing wild next to a fence row my mother would send me out to pick anytime she wanted to make a pie. So guess what I did with my blackberries? You guessed it. I made a blackberry and jam pie. The recipe is one of my MIL's so I can't link it. Here is a recipe for blackberry jam which was the topping for my pie. I even made a second pie for some new residents that moved in a few doors down. See I can be social when I want. *wink*.

Pin stripped under bust corset.

With more money means we can afford to spend a little on our happiness. DH bought Diablo 3 for his computer. He loves computer games and I'll admit I use to be big on playing World of Warcraft. I thought it a bit unfair that he get a treat and I didn't. So I did a very rare thing and splurged on myself. Remember when I said I wanted to give tight-lacing/waist training a try? Well I am. I've bought an under bust corset off eBay. It's probably not the greatest quality but it does have steel bones and the seller did assure me it is good for waist training. So we shall see. It was on sale as well so hopefully I get what I think I've ordered. If I like the feel of this corset I am going to save up to buy a custom made corset. I haven't told my husband all this yet. I wonder if he will like it or think I'm crazy? lol 

Since the harvest always goes back to food and a feast...What culinary creation have you made recently that you're proud of? I made very yummy bread yesterday. There is half a loaf left that is destined to become bread pudding.




So what are you harvesting in your life? Anything interesting happen to you this week?