a spin in the right direction

life has a funny funny way

of getting in the way 

of all the dreams 

you spin around 

in your head

the dreams that keep you

from being dead 

in your spirit 

in your soul

they are not the truth be told 

but they take hold 

and spin you round-

life has a funny funny way

 of getting in the way

 of the dreams spinnin round

 in your head

till you stop the bed

 and take a step off motion

step in the direction

 of the off normal

 off beat 

and routine

and start to dream

a bit of reality

a fragment of a clarity

that spins the tale round

the other way

and you can smile and say

this is mine
what a day
take a hold and spin it
round.

-janey      3/2013

One of our favorite real food meals ever!

Have you ever tried the Real Food Challenge? **
 In a step to eat healthier I took the real food challenge which has the best rules I have ever tried for changing the way I eat. Basically - in my words- For one week-you cook and eat using: No fast food. No convenience food. No boxes. Just cook. It really was not as hard as I thought. It was this challenge taken that inspired me to get the yogurt maker and start making my own homemade. Also the same challenge that inspired a canning set, and making apple butter!
The toughest step for me was, and has been, cereals in the morning for the kids, and sliced cheese for the sandwiches I send in lunches. But we are doing great!

Everyone voted here and the meal my family felt was their favorite during this week was:
Chicken breast sauteed in coconut oil with Garlic and pepper, served with a mix of vegies, and Au gratin Potatoes

 My Recipe for Au gratin Potatoes
6-8 potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly,
 layered into buttered (or cooking oil sprayed) baking pan 13x9x2.
heat oven to 400 F
then
in med sauce pan combine:
 1/2 c water
 1/2 cube real butter
1/2 cup homemade plain yogurt
1 brick cream cheese *8 oz
2 c milk
1-2 tbs parsley & chopped chives
 garlic salt
pepper
heat in sauce pan stirring constantly, over med heat until cream cheese completely melts,(does not have to boil)  immediately pour over potato slices . leave uncovered and bake on center rack 45 min.
Let cool 3-5 min before serving. 

Now, in this meal I wasn't perfect according to the rules of Real Food Challenge- I did use a frozen vegie mix and I easily could have replaced this with fresh broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, or whatever! But the challenge is realistic, and allows for goofs -which is what I love for this! The fact of the matter is you are allowed to use up what is still in the fridge- the main idea being you are making better choices, and eliminating the fake foods, preservatives and unnecessary junk food. Which we have done. And my family voted on this one meal as the best. So I am posting it- mistakes and all. In my defense I can say I used fresh frozen, not canned, and not frozen with tons of "butter sauce" or something else that is so frequently offered now a days. LOL
Anyway, I want to thank the people who designed this challenge and say it has changed the way I look at food! Awesome!!!!!

**Disclaimer
The Real Food Challenge is not mine, it belongs to Roxanne at: http://theholisticmama.com/real-food-challenge/ .
I simply participated in the challenge and am blogging my opinion and results there of. I take no responsibility for it, except in saying that it is the best challenge I have ever participated in in all my 44 years! And so grateful to the Holistic Mama for sharing it!!   (*** I have posted with her permission. And Have been notified by Roxanne that there will be another Real Food Challenge available to anyone who's interested in April! Go check it out!)

kitty update

Laser!!!!!!!! Laser toy ! Laser laser laserrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, meow. NOW!!!!!!!! 

Sophie has figured out the source of the infamous "red dot" and is currently guarding it. And randomly mewwing a demand for it- she hasn't moved for over 20 minutes..... laser-laser-laser addict!!

..................................... Eddie on the other hand could give a crap. (Thhhhhhhbbbbbbbbttttttt)

Ha!!!!                  Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Canning days

Days come and go,
some smoothly, some not
How it is interpreted-
depends on what you put in the pot.

HaHa! I got on a bit of a roll the past few days, crafty kitchen kind of roll. I first made candles. Actually just re-purposed /reused my old candle containers and refilled them with some new soy wax and used orange and cinnamon essential oils to give them a scenty yummy kick! Wonderful!
But that just got things started! 

Our first time ever canning anything! We tried simply- tomatoes- and they turned out perfect! So happy!

 

We celebrated our little old fashioned endeavor with an early afternoon BBQ.  Felt great to add jar to the shelf, knowing they contained nothing more than fresh ingredients. 

 The experience continued when memories of canned items on grandma's shelf inspired me to look up apple butter- which used to be one of my top favorites as a child. I was impressed with how easy it looked to make! So I made it! LOL Took all day, and I especially understood that I'll need to get a sieve soon if I plan to keep this up! 

But there it was- our second canning event! Apple butter! Yay!!!!!

Between it all the Snow Full moon peaked out. Loved it! Wonderful!  How have you been this last week?

Happy Valentine's Day

Hi! Happy Valentine's Day! Hope it was great for everyone- Spent the morning making my very first batch ever of homemade Yogurt! Got that all ready, and set into my yogurt maker, then I started on a batch of homemade cookies to give out- enjoyed the morning!

Then I got a wonderful surprise! My hubby came home early and told me to get his coat from the back seat (please) as he grabbed his stuff from work, and wow there was the most beautiful plant filling the whole back seat and a giant box of chocolates! surprise! he knows me too well- no flowers baby- but more for the garden! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the cats really wondered what the heck it was! LOL Beautiful fern.

 We spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful day! Gorgeous weather! played handball with my son, and darts with Dad, and later enjoyed just Dad! (Ha!  ;P LOL) and all around fantastic day! Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!

call me crazy

Ever sit and look through a wish book?  circling, earmarking, highlighting-  or labeling "FAVORITE!" ooooooooooogling, ahhhhhhhhhhing, flat out drooling! and imagining what holding this, or wearing that, or using this-would be like? Most women do it with clothes, know several who oooogle shoes. I have found myself doing it at jewelry a lot too! (ooooooh silver fairy at silver enchantments is awesome....ooohhhhh....)
I've done it all my life- especially when I was a kid and catalogs were the big thing..." Hey girlfriend! Look at this dress! Wow!" or later- "Hey, honey- check this out, baby! Sassy!" .....

but now the catalogs are on the internet, super easy to go through and drool and wishlist away!  and none get me more excited and "wishlisting" than going through Superior tattoo's site.... ahhhhh man! It is so true- once you start ink, you always ink....  it gets under your skin... literally! Bwahahahaha!
This process of learning how to Tattoo has been, and still is, a slow one- I have years to go before I reach status of decent - as far as pro's are concerned. But man, oh man, do I love it! Nothing like seeing my work later after the swelling is gone down, it's healed up, and it looks absolutely delicious! Oh... I mean gorgeous!
See - I'm different than most- my canvases so far beyond the practice pig skins and the initial starter oranges  :D - LOL - has been myself and my hubby. A very unique relationship- 'cause not only do I get to learn to do it.. I get to enjoy viewing my work anytime I want- and I do usually want.;P Ha! It has been so awesome! Don't know anyone else personally that can say it. Taking years to do- but we have fun! We got nothing but time! Yeeeaaaaahhhhh buddy! There is something so sexy about seeing one bad ass tattoo on the muscles of my man! Half pride, half lust and a whole lotta fun in the end!
But today is fun cause I got to purchase my "wishlist" at the tatt supplier and my new ink gun is on the way! Plus reloads of my basic needs like green soap tincture and more ink... bam! Booooyah Baby! It's on!  It's  A nice nice nice one I have been sooooo waiting for! Yay! Look out valentine's Day! New Raven tattoo is in the works! Yay!
 like I titled it- call me crazy, but that's me!

Happy Wednesday! 2/6

So after a longggggggg weekend, of which we BBQ'd for Imbolc and thoroughly enjoyed some absolutely beautiful weather here! Yay!!!!!

I am back at the basics- and trying to find the house- what is it about weekends that is so absolutely messy?

LOL

All is well though, and I am hoping all who come across this we blessed with a loving, bright and happy weekend!

I am drying my curls as I write, and I noticed a lot of ads for Valentine's Day coming up. I had forgotten about it. Not being surrounded by girls, or little ones anymore- and not being a huge TV watcher -LOL- I just tend to forget that one. Ack!  Maybe it's bad. Maybe that's good.... I often get very tired of the hype surrounding some holidays. Valentine's Day is one of the worst. It has become so commercialized that people do not realize it should just be about loving and caring for others.  Recognizing a person and acknowledging their qualities and showing you care should be the best gift given at anytime, but the media pushes value to diamonds, and flowers, and chocolates like that is all it's about. And if you don't get jewelry or sweets you have been cheated! Oh my! .... but to me- Nice as they are- most regular folk are just barely recovering from the budget blowers of xmas- much less have money for diamonds. (Eye rolls here!) It just further perpetuates the problem.

Also I went through a period of years working as a florist where I HATED Valentine (mother's day is not much better). As purchaser and orderer of the bulk flowers available for Valentine's day rush- The quality coming out of the warehouses and greenhouses and shipments are crap! The rush to provide for the media pushed hype causes suppliers to cut early and store longer- meaning even the best of florists get old flowers delivered to them that are supposed to be fresh! -They are not. Trust me- after nearly 10 years dealing with rush day of over thousand orders each time- trust me people- the WORST time to buy flowers is valentines day. Wait 2 weeks-3 would be better!- surprise her when she really least expects it- but not on Valentine's day.... not if you want quality flowers that last extra long. 

But that's just me. I'll probably get bashed for my opinion, but oh well. What do I recommend instead? It depends on the girl, but heartfelt cards, lots a lovin!, nice food, and extra huggin' ;P can go a long way!

On another note, after time taken this weekend to specifically attune with Mother Nature I just wanted to share - because many people focus just on Moon, and do not realize how the sun can daily affect our lives. Father Sun is a powerful being and he has been so active lately! This year is incredible for solar activity! Solar flares really affect us all! Moods change, things feel off-odd and some people are more sensitive than others! It affects the magnetic field of the whole mother earth each time a solar flare projects our way! Been feeling particularly odd? Can't quite focus? Thoughts just are not as organized? Check for flares! It may have a lot more to do with it than you realize! The perfect site to find out about it- ion a scientific level, is .spaceweather.com- a treasure trove of information! Starts to help make sense scientifically of what the traditional pagan cultures and belief systems have tried to tell us all along! Check it out! 

-BB! Janey

Just for fun... thoughts

 I gotta laugh each time  bell bottom jeans are the "new" thing. or what's called "skinny jeans" comes into play, and I think of the pants Twiggy wore- just painted on "skinny jeans"- ooops! with a bell bottom! LOL I believe.

But if katie holmes wears it....oh lord! NEW!=>

I gotta laugh when the new 2013 layered hair takes on a "feathered" Farah Fawcett look- but they call it but the new girls name.... or just messy hair for Jennifer Aniston.

 Or how about the First lady gets bangs, oooooooohhhh... how new!
-like they did for groovy in the 60's again in the 70's, and 80's and 90's....jeez.



Today I laughed at an entertainment article complaining once again about lyrics of popular songs.... how grunts, acronyms, syllables and street slang takes the place of actual English language words- the writer sounding like some aged conservative complaining about how things change-pouring over the old songs as if they spoke perfect Shakespearean prose!...And I just belly laugh.... as the Crystals 1963 song pops in my head and I remember standing the kitchen singing away with my mom and sister to spatulas in hang in microphone form - oh we had it down - doing the hand gestures in line-

"Met him on a monday and my heart stood still.
Da doo run run run da doo run run.
Somebody told me that his name was Bill.
Da doo run run run da doo run run.
Whoa, my heart stood still.
Yeah, his name was Bill.
And when he walked me home,
da doo run run run da doo run run.

He knew what he was doin' when he caught my eye.
Da doo run run run da doo run run.
He looked kind of quiet, but my, oh my.
Da doo run run run da doo run run.
Oh, he caught my eye.
My, my, my, my, oh my.
And when he walked me home,
da doo run run run da doo run run."

But, syllables half words, and grunts and groans were never acceptable "back then" according to the article.(and we all know James Brown knew that, of course! HEY!)
oh, how time, and fads, and history of souls repeat... whether we believe it or not, our decision I suppose to accept or reject the new/old/in thing. And just laugh when others cannot. (or cry....but I'd rather laugh! )

ahhhhhh I'm getting old. HA! Bwahahahahahah!
Met him on a Monday and my heart stood still.... a doo runrunrun a doo run ruuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnn- yeah eh yeah - 

Hello Sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Ever had a song stuck in your head?! Boy do I have one!!! It's been there all morning! GooGoooDolls- "Don't Want The World To See Me"..... don't have a reason for it- it just is. So imagine that song and a bunch of determination and you have my morning!

Yay! I did it! Turn over (first turn mind you still have to add fertilizer and turn it again!) But I completed turning over and breaking ground and mashing up a whole whopping 13 X 17 rectangle of dirt! Just me and a shovel. Going to be my first garden ever. Well, I have had a few boxes in past, but my first ever designated space. 13 x 17 is damned near he size of entire yard I had entirely at the old house before we moved. Now I have this plus plus plus! Yay! It's like 2 yards in one! :) Yay!
whew. pooped... but happy! ..... no really tired now... Ha!
And this... (LOL Haha!Tatt is showing in my highwaters- LOL) ...This  below is the mini rock garden I have found along the way- so cute... I think the birds keep messing with them. They get re-arranged after I leave. :D

Okay- that's my morning. Now to go drink a ton of water and find some lunch... what sounds good? I'll probably have some left over Zitti.... maybe... or just drink some water and sit a bit..Ha! Happy Friday!!!!!!

A breath- taken in...

a breath
completed
is the essence of life
but
not in  humanity's definition.
for a breathe taken in
is new, fresh, clean and undefiled
a fresh start, a hope.
Every exhale completes a cycle,
outward forcing rush of defiled,
complicated, used up dusty old.
out with the old,
in with the new.
life as it should be,
on a daily, hourly, minute by minute basis
for living natural life.
a continual recycling circle-
a resurgence of renewal.
Life.
A lesson humanity often forgets,
never forgives
and is jealous of
at all cost.
 - Janey,  Jan 2013

What I noticed Today...Tip Toe Friday

I am trying to learn to write everyday. ha! That would require consistency, and well, we shall see how that goes! LOL I rename one goal on my list to Write in journal daily. If I can actually do that until Ostara- I have certainly achieved a huge goal! :D

Yesterday, I meant to write. Yesterday (Thursday) was an emotional day and I ended up getting upset over a phone call with my mom, then ranting over it, mulling and muddling over it, then finally calling her and talking it out, and having a good night after all. So an emotional, but "determined to heal it" kind of day. Really. :D One thing I did do, however, was continue to knock out a section of weeds and took the shovel and outlined where I want the garden to grow. Just the outline. but it's a start- I had to be able to see something, my visualizations just were not in the groove without a start. LOL Good work out - shoveling is not easy! LOL and whew....

Today (Friday) I started off catching up with Tiptoe Chick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnFrXJ-AoaU)  and she had posted a wonderful short synopsis about daily candle rituals and I loved it! I also loved her Friday explanation- a get ready for fun day- so I lit a candle and took her advice! Yay!! I declared it a pamper morning- which helped soooo much, because I was sore from shoveling yesterday! Ouch! And thankful for it- 'cause the day has been gorgeous ever since! Amongst the many things of regular errands I trimmed my hair. And then got a surprise by my son, who asked me to trim his hair and advice on taming his young beard. (Which he is determined to grow!) So, I indulged, and we joked and had fun! And I trimmed over 3" off! ;) Yay! He was happy- I was happy! Sweeet!

I headed out after finishing school-to my spot in the afternoon, the yard, to enjoy some outside for a while. Instead of grabbing the shovel, I sat on one of the many rocks lined up from the previous owner and stared at the mess I need to clean up and fix-seeing my outline helped though and I started envisioning where this might be going! It was peaceful and nice end to the day! I have a long way to go with this as you can see by the picture-  The hummingbirds said hello, and today the doves did as well! yay! Happy Friday! BB

My Morning... What I noticed today

Since I moved to this new house I have the pleasure of being accepted by the 2 hummingbirds who live in the two trees in my yard and the one large tree in the neighbors. A little grey female and her hubby -a beautiful green, grey,& red male. He doesn't get close to me, but when I prune the lemon tree out front or check it's progress the female always pays a visit. She even allows my sons to get close- my son took these pictures- shows her right above my head.
For the first time in my life I have experienced not just getting to see hummingbirds, but I have experienced their chatter. I am learning to understand their sounds, for normal day to day. The song, the clicks, the warnings, the chatter. they are very talkative creatures!
But today was different. It just happened. I am not sure what happened exactly but in the animal world, I actually got to be privy for a moment, and instinct and intuition screams at me inside to be glad I was! So I will not question, I obeyed and everyone seems to be happy I did.

 So here's what happened:I was out by the furthest part of my front yard- I have just begun to start knocking weeds and trying to think about where I want a garden to start:

I heard my hummingbirds chatter. The usual talk. I walked to the furthest left (northern) corner and snapped a picture of my agave- been having fun with sun play lately :

This is when I first heard the sound. Sharp - tone. I am not musical so I cannot place a key note to it; however, it sounded a lot like the beep you get from a house fire alarm when the battery is getting low??? There quick but gone. I thought- huh, weird. I turned to take another picture of the the rock wall the previous owner left me with

 Here at this picture I looked up because the sound came again. I glanced into my fruitless mulberry and say the male flying. He made the sound again- and I realized it actually came from him- but I was stunned to see him do it as to make the sound he actually is thrown backwards in flight in order to make it. He darted over my head. I thought- something's wrong! I briskly walked up to the house- and he made the noise a third time as I reached the porch the whole area went dead silent- not a bird, not a dog- it was freaky quiet- as if the whole world was listening- I listened- by my front door- too caught up in this weird to move-

quiet .....quiet.......not even a car moved..... there! That's it! I could hear a man yelling! Screaming profanities and it sounded from behind my house in the alley... I could hear his voice as he moved!  the warning sounded again, and this time the neighbors dogs went insane berzerkkers! Explosion of barks - fierce barks! then the back alley neighbor's dog went crazy and the man kept moving... I listened -you could hear him as he went for the dogs now took over the alerts! and I could hear the whole neighborhood- countless dog voices raising up in communication- After I knew he'd moved on down the road beyond the corner- and the neighbors dogs settled down a bit,  indicating safe- I went inside to find my cats at the back bedroom window -alert and hair raised, intent on watching down the alley.
Like I said- I don't know what happened exactly, but I am sooo happy I listened. So happy. Gut instincts are happy anyway.

I realize I could just be paranoid. The town's high school's news last week with the student shooter went international, and everyone in the town is still on edge. But this seemed significant in another way. So I am noting it, even if I do not completely understand it.

ps. now that I am typing this to share- my "helpers"........................." are helping...