Willow's Room

We are still working on Willow's room. We've had a few other things that we are doing, so that doesn't help any. We're also having a little problem with the purple paint not covering well, but we will do the best we can. She might end up with three colors on her walls, instead of the two! A while back we picked up some things for her room from Ross that we were saving for her birthday, but we wanted her input, so she knows what's going on now.

Yesterday we took her out to do some errands, and she gave us a really hard time. I decided to put the work on her room on hold until she turned her behavior around. So yesterday she had to work off the attitude! We cleaned up some weeds in the front garden together, and the painting resumed today.

Here's the two paint colors we're working with. This paint came from a second hand home improvement store. These two cans cost us $2.

UPDATES!

I never did get around to posting pictures of how Willow's room turned out, so here I am over a year later posting an update. I only have a few cell phone pics, but I figured it was better than nothing!

I will include a list of the items we bought and materials we used at the end of this post. 

You should also check out the first BEFORE picture of what the room looked like when we moved in and we were cleaning boxes out of the house! You can find that picture on the very bottom of this post.

~Bamboo shade: Home Depot

~Shiny, pink sheer curtains: Ross

~Five colored standing light fixture: Walmart

~Gold picture frames, plastic, set of 10, all different sizes: Ross

~Bed comforter: Walmart

~Purple sheets and pillow cases: Walmart

~Pink bed skirt: Walmart

~Green fuzzy pillow: Walmart

~Blue fuzzy body pillow: Ross

~Silver curtain rod set: Walmart

~Glass hanging candle holders (not used for candles): Ross

~Pink Angry Bird pillow: Walmart

~Frosted glass vanity light fixture: Home Depot

~AMAZING octopus art print: By the talented Amy Weber. You can find her work on here on Etsy: 

AmyWeberArt

~Orange dresser: Vintage item that came with the house

~Orange and yellow roll-top desk: Vintage furniture that came with the house

Painting materials: 

We used all the usual materials which includes: 

~Drop cloth

~Paint rollers

~Sponge brushes: (better than bristle brushes!)

~Painter's tape: (I cannot express how important it is to use FROG TAPE! The adhesive is much better quality than cheaper brands)

~Exacto knife: (to cut painter's tape if it is not placed correctly, AND in case you try to pull the tape off and the paint is too thick.)

~Damp washcloth: to wipe up boo-boos and spills. 

~*Dap* fast n' final lightweight spackling

~Electric palm sander with fine grit sandpaper

~Lots of elbow grease and hard work

Our Beltaine

It's May 2nd, and about 6:30pm. I'm sitting here in peace. My husband is gone doing errands, and our little Willow is gone for the weekend with her Grams. It is SO peaceful here right now!

My husband and I did not do any ritual yesterday, we usually don't do much. We must be lazy pagans. I always get so caught up in life!

What we did do...was spent time with each other. We mowed the lawn, and tidied up the yard, and made a million plans for the house, garden, and for our future. Today we did more of that, and we got to walk together and hold hands. That was the most beautiful ritual that we could have done in public. It was amazing seeing so many people smile at us. Of course, I noticed one lady give us an annoyed look. That is okay. I have been there myself. I know that not every day is going to feel like this, but while it's happening...I want to savor every moment.

I hope all is well with anyone reading this, and if not, let me know. I will try to spread some love your way.

~Amanda Star~

Praying for Prosperity, New Opportunities, and Closure

I need my own life. Well, I love my family life, but I need to be able to have my own goals to achieve, space to create, friends to do things with. Chris has taken the garage and the workshop, and it's very depressing for me to not have my own space. My little workshop is accessible to everyone...no privacy...no soundproofing for solitude. If I want to get up early in the morning to work in my workshop, which is full of every one's stuff, I have to be careful not to wake up Willow because we don't have any doors. It's truly frustrating. I understand that creating a small business will not bring in a substantial amount of money, but it would be something. I haven't found the boost that I need yet, but I will continue to work towards it. It's a financial thing. Right now I consider us below poverty, but rich in love and knowledge.

I am sometimes struggling to walk and use my hands. I want to use my body while I still can. Sometimes people poke fun at me because I can't do everything that a 30 year old woman "should" be able to do. My mental health is still compromised. I am still grieving pretty bad, I realize that. I know that it is written all over my face everyday, and through my writing and conversations.

I will be praying today and tonight, during this full moon, to be shown the way to a new way of life for myself. One that will allow for me to still have strong bond with my family and husband, but an outlet for me to have my own experiences without them as well. I will be asking for support, prosperity, and for new opportunities. I am willing to work hard for these things. My physical limitations are just one thing. I still have my mind and my passion.

I still have myself...my own dreams and aspirations.

I will stay positive and work on drawing in positive things, and opening new doors for myself...that will also benefit my family and friends.

Thank you God, Goddess, Universe, etc....for everything that I have and for all of the new things that may come my way.

I am so very thankful, and looking forward to seeing what my future will hold.

With all that being said, I would like to post a beautiful graphic as a reminder to myself and to anyone who may read this, that we are all warriors in our own lives. We need to stand up for ourselves and take charge when needed. We must stay strong.

Earth Day and Cultural Anthropology Studies

Today is Earth day and I think it is only natural to think about the earth in it's entirety. This would include the geology and also studies in cultural anthropology. I happen to be blessed with a collection of anthropology books, that I got for free. I like to call it a miracle, or a syncrhronistic manifestation. The books are from a used book store that is like a spiritual vortex, helping people manifest the knowledge that they are seeking.

Last night I was reading a page from a book called Cultural Anthropology, Understanding Ourselves and Others, second edition, by Richley H. Crapo. I immediately started reading about culture shock, but I flipped through the pages and found myself very interested in a section titled "Intercultural Influences". I would like share an excerpt from that book, that I believe is important for everyone to understand.

Intercultural Influences

Contact between cultures can bring tremendous change. This is especially true when the two societies differ greatly in economic and political power. Sometimes the extinction of native populations has been carried out by systematic acts of war. Even in less extreme cases, the transition from the traditional way of life to a socially dependent status is never without turmoil. Cultural subordination of one way of life by another, even when it occurs peaceably, can be a shattering experience both psychologically and culturally.

Time and time again, anthropologists have described the tragic effects of the world's nonagricultural peoples of contact with the industrialized peoples of the world. Diseases introduced from the more densely populated societies sometimes decimate the local population, in which there is less resistance to the diseases of the civilized world. The awareness that other peoples are more powerful and more blessed with luxuries is a blow to the cultural pride that unifies a society. Often, contact is followed by a rise in the rate of internal conflict and other forms of deviance, such as alcoholism and suicide. For the Kwakiutl (tribe), contact with Europeans may have led to exaggerated-and destructive-attempts to display wealth and power.   

This really makes me think about the conflicts that are going on around the world, and right here in the United States, between the people of different states or within the groups of people with different economical statuses and religious or spiritual views.

In the United States accurate education about world history is stifled. It takes a certain amount of intuitiveness and curiosity to break free from this perception. Ideally, we would all want to strive for a better understanding of the world, but most of the time, this is not the case.

I believe that it is our responsibility to try to understand the psychology of the people in the world and our own psychological process. With insight into these processes we can better understand and accept different cultures and religions with less resistance.

Earth Day, Some Dreams and Spiritual Evolution

I had an awful dream last night. I won't get into it, but I realize that I REALLY need to start doing some more serious dream work. That's something that shouldn't be ignored. If you are constantly having vivid dreams they shouldn't be ignored! It's time to delve into my subconscious mind and work on a few things.

I woke up in a weird mood because of the dream, and I got on the computer to help wake up my eyes. It's a ritual that I enjoy. I also decided that I should scramble around and find my walking shoes and workout clothes. Willow woke up, but I still got ready to go for a walk. I woke Chris up while I was looking for a bra. Whoops. Well, he needed to keep an eye on Willow while I was gone anyway.

I really needed to take a walk. That dream really did shake me up and made me question some things in my life. We live in a beautiful neighborhood, except for a few little things. During my walk I had to keep reminding myself to not worry, and to just have TRUST that I am where I belong. I need to believe that the universe will give me signs as to where I belong and what I should be doing.

That is trust.

Today is Earth Day, and also the anniversary of the day Chris and I decided to set off on an adventure as a couple. We went through flirting, courting, feeling out the situation, and then finally we went looking for moss covered rocks and a waterfall...that was on Earth Day 2007.

I walked past some trash on my walk, but was disappointed in myself for not thinking about bringing a bag for trash and recyclables! At the end of my walk, close to our house, I started picking up cigarette butts. I think I know where they came from, but I can't be certain...so I can't point any fingers. It does make me sad, though. My sister lost her husband a couple years ago because of his cigarette addiction. He went through many painful treatments and surgeries.

It's 9:42am, and I have a lot more things to do today.

I'm just going to go with the flow...

Boob Talk: Teaching Older Children About Breastfeeding

Today my four year old was asking me about my boobs. I don't want her to be scared of breasts, I just want her to understand them. Recently we went to visit some good friends of ours. She got to see a little girl nursing, and I'm so glad she did. I nursed my babies, but didn't nurse them for as long as I wanted to. I ended up with breast infections that left me very ill. I nursed two of my children for six months. Well, today Willow wanted to see my breasts, and I told her "Sorry, I'm not just going to show them to you just because you want to see them!". I want her to realize she can't just show them to people whenever they ask. I am not completely shy and we have our own house, so I do walk around in the buff sometimes. Partly so she knows it's ok behind closed doors, and partly so I can dry off after a shower. The truth is, I want her to love her body, and I want her to feel comfortable talking about it to the right people. I also want her to know the importance of breastfeeding. If she decides to have children, I want her to be educated and to not feel like it's wrong to nurse and use her breasts for the right reason. I let her know how amazing it is how mothers can make milk for their babies, just like the mom on Ponyo, which is one of her favorite movies. I talked to her for a little while about it all, and she seems very satisfied with our talk. She also laughed and said "Daddy has boobs, too!" Haha! Out of the mouths of babes...

In Response to a Sensitive Subject:

I wrote this in response to a post on one of the wonderful facebook pages that I'm following. It was about human sacrifice and Christianity. It was quite the topic, and generated 216 or so comments. I decided it would be a good idea to save my response here since it's also an update as to why I have been so darn busy! I thought it would be inspiring to someone, and a great post to look back on for myself for personal growth.

So here goes...

I try not to focus on the story of just one healer/teacher. I have room for the stories of many in my life. As for human sacrifice, it happens. It's called homicide or genocide. It's still going on all over the world. Right now I am working with some wonderful healers, and I am one myself. As for the myths and stories that are written in the bible, that's pretty much what they are...stories. We can take what we want from them. It's pretty much the same as Greek mythology, or mythology from any other culture. I'm not going to obsess over them either, but instead embrace them all. That is why I just started my studies in cultural anthropology. I have just always been so fascinated by culture and world history. You all will probably get a kick out of this, I am definitely not Christian, but I was raised going to many different churches and I sing gospel everyday! It is flowing out of me so freely and inspires others! My husband and a friend of ours are thinking about starting up a little group so we can all perform together and make beautiful music with our voices, guitars, a mandolin, and soon a banjo. I happen to love bluegrass, and my favorites are Alison Krauss and The Wailin' Jennys. :) I don't care so much for the words in the hymns (although they are beautiful and filled with joy and love), but I tend to focus on the ENERGY of reaching your voice out to the universe (Or God or Goddess, or both) as a form of prayer and rejoice. It's a beautiful thing! Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this, and I hope it gives you some good vibes and inspiration. Love to all of you! ~Amanda Star~

 

I posted one more comment to hopefully give some peace to all of the souls that contributed to the conversation. It was just a link to a song that I thought would be very suiting.

 

I hope you enjoy... <3

 

Down in the River To Pray - Alison Krauss