Crazy Times Ahead

So for those of you who don't know me. Let me start off by saying, while I love the fact that I got the opportunity to live in Germany, I am happy to finally be heading back to the states. That being said, we now know when and where we are going. We will be leaving Germany in July and heading to.... Ft. Riley, KS. I know, its in the middle of no where, but at this point, I welcome that. I am looking forward to some open space for once.
That being said, now begins the process of PCS'ing and moving. What does that mean. Scheduling Household Goods and Unaccompanied Baggage (DONE), cleaning quarters (IN PROCESS), looking for a new place (IN PROCESS) and clearing out of country (NOT STARTED). It is going to be a rough a trying couple of months, but I know that it is well worth it to get back to the states.

FLYing

So, with this being a new year, and us moving sometime hopefully in the next 6-8 months, I have decieded to turn over a new leaf when it comes to housework, and keeping the house clean. I remember when it was time to move from NC and what a nightmare it was to get packed and cleaned at the same time. DO NOT want to do that again! I have heard about and actually looked at previously a site called Fly Lady. The short version is that it is simple for anyone to have a home that is ready for people to come over with as short of a time as 15 minutes a day. Basically, instead of tackling the housework in one marathon session, everything is broken down into Zones, and done in 15 minute blocks of time. After all, who doesn't have 15 minutes?

When you start as a Fly Baby, there are 31 baby steps that you are to start with. This is a way to help get used to the program, as well as establish a routine. The first one is Shine your Sink. The concept of this is that if you shine your sink, when you wake up the next morning, you will be greeted by a clean shiny sink, and will motivate you to accomplish the rest. Lets give this a try. I just followed the directions that are provided on the site, and now have a nice shiny sink in my kitchen! It did help, that I decided to pretty much clean my whole kitchen this weekend, but that is not the point. So, along with the baby steps, there are zones of the house for each week to work on as well as missions each day to accomplish in that zone.
This weeks zone is the kitchen. If you are just starting out, she suggests that you start off small in each zone by de-cluttering first. Once that is done, then you can move onto more detailed cleaning. So that's what I did, got rid of some of the clutter on my counter as well as my microwave. Also accomplished the mission for today which was to clean the cabinet doors.
So far so good. Lets see how this works out. If anyone else out there is FLYing, I would love to hear how it has gone for you. I will continue to post about this as time goes on to let everyone know how it is going.

Mercury Retrograde

OK, so I am the kinda witch that will read my Zodiac AFTER the fact, and realize, DAMN, maybe I should have stayed in bed. I am also one who usually doesn't give much notice to the Astrological Pain in the Ass.......

MERCURY RETROGRADE(*Spooky Music).

 Personally, I have never noticed much different during the time, and in fact, it usually passes by me without me even knowing it. Not this year!

I am hoping that since it is 900 pm here in Germany, that it is safe for me to talk about this. So pretty much all month, I have been having problems with my phone. First, for some reason, all my contacts that were saved to the SIM card are gone, but still there. I can search through the history, and they are there, but when I go to search the contacts, they are gone. I tried, to save the info from the history, but no luck, the phone thinks it is on the SIM. Also tried to add a new contact, didn't save, but saved. Then by great "Smart phone" decided what it would be fun to just randomly turn off while in my pocket. Yes the phone was locked, and there is no way for the pocket to turn it off, since it was the shoulder pocket of my ACU's. Then it would just turn off when I would put it on my desk. The past couple of days, when I would plug it in to charge, it couldn't make up its mind whether it was charging or not. So that has been the drama with the phone. So over the weekend I was trying to check one of my email accounts and was told that my user name had been locked. That's weird, cause I was just on it 5 minutes before when my computer decided to crap out on me for a min. All that being said, I think I have learned my lesson.
 So what have I learned over the past 3 weeks? Know when to take a step back. Things have been so crazy at work, that sometimes, I just need to remember that I am only one person, and I have other commitments that I have to take care of as well. Maybe sometimes, I need to focus more on my family than my work.
Oh yeah, and keep an eye out for that evil Mercury Retrograde and what lessons may come along with it, cause they will come whether you are ready for them or not.
So how has this Mercury Retrograde treated you, and have you done anything in the past or present to prepare for it? Let me know, I would love to hear the stories.

School Jobs

So as part of Alex's Sure Start Class, everyone gets to take turns to have jobs in the classroom. The week before Thanksgiving and the week of he was "The Inspector" which meant he got to take two friends around the classroom and make sure everything was picked up and mot messy before it was time to go outside. Well I just happened to ask him today what his new job is and he said he was the "Flag Helper." He told me that he gets to hold the flag. I kinda had an idea where this was leading, but we have been trying to get him to tell us about school and what he learned, not that he just had fun. So I ask him, what happens when he holds the flag, and he proceeds to demonstrate holding the flag. So I then say, well what do your friends do while you are holding the flag? "Say the Pledge of Allegiance" Of course it took some coxing, (and maybe some bribery) but I managed to get him to say it on camera. Be advised, he is 5 and a little silly most of the time, I don't know what he was doing while he was saying it. I do know that his hand is up because he wanted me to "pick him" when he was done.

Thanksgiving

So it is 708pm here in Germany. The meal has been eaten, the leftovers put away, dished almost all washed, and some pie eaten. All with some friends from Wiesbaden who came over with their 3 year old daughter. Overall it has been a pretty good day. There was a little bit of fighting with Alex and Kiba at first, but after that it has been pretty smooth sailing. So sitting here has got me thinking.. what exactly am I thankful for?
Well of course there is my husband and son first. Without them, I don't know what I would do. Next I would have to say my job. While it is VERY stress full, especially now that things are starting to close down. I really do love what I do. Not just the day to day aspect of it, but being in the military in general. I am also thankful for the friends and family that are there no matter what. While there may be discrepancies from time to time, I would do anything for them.
Since I am feeling the effects of cooking all day, and the turkey, I'm going to end this by asking "What are you thankful for?"

Exhausting Week

Yeah, I know it is only Wednesday, but already, I am ready for it to be over. 

 

So Alex finally started Sure Start on Monday. YAY! As you can see, he is so excited! It was all he has been talking about for like the past two weeks. The only bad thing we have heard from his teacher, is that he is doing the hoarding food thing at lunch time. For some reason, we have yet to figure out where he got it from, he crams his food into his mouth, and trys to hold it in his cheeks. It is funny because he looks like a chipmunk, but we have to try not to laugh to try to get him to stop doing it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. His teachers do know about him not pooping in the potty, but luckily he has not done it in his pants at school, he waits until Momma gets home for that. Oh yeah, and he still wont go to sleep until after ten o'clock so we are still fighting that battle, and of course the follow up battle to get up in the morning.

Since he is going to school everyday, I am definitely feeling more stressed. I have to get up, do PT, come home, take the dog out, take a shower, get myself ready for work, and get Alex up and ready for school and have him there by 8:15. Then to top it all off, have to work a full day, deal with everything that is going along with Transformation, and then come home, and try to get some housework/ dinner done.

I am still waiting to find out about the funding for my ALC (Advanced Leaders Course) that I am going to on October 1st. I am glad to be going, but not thrilled about the timing. This will actually be the first time that I will not be here for Alex's birthday. Plus, with me being gone, this means that the Hubs will have to do everything. I am just hoping that everything will go relatively smooth while I am gone. I will be under enough stress as it is, and will not be nearby if something should happen.

The nice thing is that you can tell that Fall is coming here in Germany. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it has already arrived. It is chilly in the morning and evening, and usually windy during the day. The leaves on the trees have already started to change, and fall. In fact, when I was at work the other day, you could smell someone burning leaves. I never really liked the smell personally, but for some reason, it was nice for once. 

Week in Review

So as another attempt to keep myself writing regularly, I have decided to start a week in review post. Pretty much it will include a wrap up of what happened within the past week.
So, this week has been pretty relaxed. It was the first week of my two weeks of leave. YAY! The first I have taken since I have been in Germany. A very much needed break from work. I didn't go anywhere, but am just enjoying the time to be at home and relax. Actually, I think this is the first time since I have been in the Army that I have been able to truly relax while on leave. Usually, we would go home, and have to worry about splitting time between family and friends. This time, I just get to sit and focus on being at home and RELAXING! Of course, I do have plans for getting housework done, and have accomplished quite a bit, but am still loving not having to go to work. I have had time to finally work on my travel Book of Shadows, and really like the way it is turning out.
Thursday, we finally got the phone call that Alex has a tentative slot in Sure Start for the next school year YAY! What does this mean. He will be going to Pre-K 5 days a week all day. There are still some questions I have about the program, but I will get to ask them this coming Thursday when I go to orientation. The biggest thing I am hoping to get from this, that Alex will get ready for Kindergarten and of course help him with the Potty problems that we are still dealing with.
I have managed to catch up on ALC course work that I was falling a little bit behind on due to just being too tired. Hopefully, I will be able to pull ahead on it in the next week. On that note, I also have taken some time to spend at the gym for some much needed work out time. Granted it was not as much as I would have liked, but since I have become well rested this week, I am hoping that will change next week. I know that I have not been working out as much as I should, and that I have not been keeping as close an eye on my weight as I need to, and since it is getting close to time for me to actually go to ALC, I need to get ready.
Oh, and the biggest disappointment this week was finding out that I missed cut-off by TWO points! TWO POINTS.... enough to make me mad. Then again, I know that means, I am closer to the top of the list, and that once I get done with ALC, I will have over 600 points, and should be good by then.
I know this has kind of jumped around a little bit, but that is how I think, so that is how it came out. I will try to do better as time goes on.
To close this, please enjoy this picture of one of the pages that I worked on this week. Since this is meant to be a Travel Book of Shadows, I thought it would be fitting to have a protection spell in it. If anyone would like to see more of what I have done, please let me know, I dont mind. I am even willing to share my BIG Book of Shadows. All you have to do is ask.

First day of "Pre School"

So Alex had his first day of Pre School today, and it seems to have been a hit. He got to sing songs, play games, and even brought an art project home. Oh and by the way, he went to sleep on time! One "issue" though. I went to orientation today, and had to fill out some paper work, and one of the questions had to do with what holidays do we celebrate? Of course there were the mainstream ones, but nothing even remotely Pagan. Personally, I had no issue just checking Christmas, Halloween, and Easter, because we do still "celebrate" but of course not for the reasons most people do. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this or a similar issue ever come up with a school or something similar.
Since he was so proud (and so was I honestly), here is a picture of the Hat that he made in school. Of course it is 4th of July themed, and had to resized when we got it home.

PS He has a show and tell also when he goes back on Friday. Any ideas on what a 4 year old could take for Show and Tell?

Busy, busy, frustration, busy

So finally bit the bullet and got Alex enrolled in Pre-school, he starts on Monday. While we still have not conquered the Potty Training Mountain yet, I am hoping this will help. He will only be in school for 3 hours in the morning, 3 days a week, but hopefully it will be enough to help him expend some energy, make some friends, and be around kids more. Not to mention it will get him and Steve out of the house. Then, while I was at Central Registration, I got him enrolled in Strong Beginnings that will start with the new school year. It is basically a Pre-K program that will get him ready for Kindergarten next year.

Right now I am just feeling really frustrated. Between being exhausted from having to be into work early, not getting to bed till late because Alex wont go to sleep until late, and being the only one who does anything in the house, and being the only one who takes the dog out, I am just exhausted and frustrated. What I would really like to do, is just take some time to myself, light my altar, and sit there. The problem is, I have to wait till Alex gets to sleep, or else it will be a waste of time, and then have to get the dog out. There is just not enough hours in the day. I am hoping that since I will be taking Alex to school in the mornings, that Steve will at least take Kovu out in the morning, so I will still have time to get myself, and Alex ready.

Plus on top of that, I am still "dealing" with the family issues back home. There has still been no resolution, and I am not sure when there will be, and when there is, how will it impact me in the future. Plus, with the transformation at work, no one seems to understand that we still have to do our mission, even though we will be falling under a new higher HQ's. Everyone is focused on the fact that they should be doing our mission, and not us. Technically, that would be true, but we still have people here, and as long as we are, we are going to do the mission as best as we can.

Pagan Blog Project - K for Kitchen Witch

When it comes to magic and witchcraft, there are more forms and types than one person could even begin to list. One in particular seems to be fitting to many of us with family, whether we realize it or not. That would be Kitchen Magic. This is especially true for me. While I may not always want to cook, I do enjoy it. I actually took some time to try to think about why. The way I see it, everyone needs food to survive. When I am in the kitchen cooking something for my family, even if its pre-made), I am provinding the nurishment that they need. While I may not be fully aware of it, I am putting my energy into what ever it is that I am making. In turn my family eats it, and gets a little bit of that energy. After thinking about that, and coming to that realization, I have decieded that I am going to be more careful about how I cook. By this I mean, making sure I have my emotions and energy in control when I am preparing the food. There is no sense in passing on what I am feeling to my family

Blessed Beltane

Beltane is a time when the Goddess and God have consummated their relationship, and the signs of the fertility that returned at Ostara can really be seen. This is definitely the case here in Germany. The past couple of weeks, it has been chilly, rainy and windy. Well lo and behold, over the weekend, it gets warmer, and everything is so GREEN! The flowers on the bushes where I work are even starting to get flowers on them.
So what have I done to celebrate this? Well I just got my altar lit up, will post pictures to my Picassa Album later (so check it out in the next couple of days). I also used the time to enjoy the warm weather by spending some time outside after work. Even Alex was in on the fun for most of the day. It is so nice that things are starting to get nice enough to spend some time outside.
While my energy is not back up to where I would like it to be, I am beginning to feel better now that the weather is getting nicer. Of course that could be from finally being almost done with school for the semester (one more final to take tomorrow). So no matter where you are in the world, please take the time to enjoy what they are giving us at this great time of year. I LOVE WARM WEATHER!

Gonna keep it short tonight, still gonna go and sit at my altar, and do a "Blessing" on mine and hubbies wedding rings in honor of the Goddess and God
HAPPY BELTANE EVERYONE!
Alles Gute zum Beltane

Family... So many question.

Family is one of the things in our lives that we have no control over. There are times when we may be proud to say who we are related to, and there may be times when we just wish we belonged to a different family altogether. Is there ever a good time to say "enough is enough." When you just cant stand the draining anymore. Is there ever a right time to just severe any kind of contact with family? Is it too harsh, does that point not exist? Has it been crossed along time ago, or can it be seen in the near future? Is there more we can do, have we done our best, or could we have done more in the past? Has there been a serious of misunderstanding, or are you the one who misjudged? Would things have been better if you had stayed closer to home or was leaving the best thing you could have done? If you had stayed how different would things have been? Would things have turned out better, or worst and for who? So many questions that you hope you never have to be faced with, hoping you will soon wake up and it will all have been a bad dream. Hoping for a good change of events....

PBP - H for Home

Home is the place where you live, whether its an apartment, house, motel, dorm, barracks, or a spare room in someone Else's home. So what does this have to do with being Pagan? Well since many of us practice in our homes alone, it also becomes our place of worship. Ideally, there should be somewhere where you can be alone with your chosen entity. Of course this is not always possible, We have family, friends, roommates, and neighbors, that can prevent this. What is important is that when you go to worship, you are able to relax. With so many people in our homes everyday, allot of energy can be kicked up and left around both good and bad. This can effect how you are able to worship. If there is a lot of negative energy hanging around, it can make it difficult. Personally, what I do, is before I begin, I take a few minutes to ground and center myself and get rid of the energy in the immediate area of where I will be working. Of course, there are times when this may not be enough. As I have my own energy issues right now, I will be addressing this next week. This was just an intro on the topic.

Newest member of the Family

Since I was finally able to get a decent picture of him, I present to all my readers Kovu! He will be 10 months old this month. Yes he is a pure blood Siberian Husky, but we do not have the papers on him. He is hyper as would be expected from his breed, but likes to spend most of the day asleep, at least until I come home for some reason. Thankfully, the family we got him from had a 2 year old, so he is great with kids. He even knows to be a little bit gentler when he is playing with Alex. OK, I guess that's really all for this post. Just wanted to announce and introduce the newest member of the family.