Thursday, September 8, 2011

Interesting people

I meet so many neat people at the gas station. From the crazies who think anyone wearing a peace sign must be an aetheist to the 7 ft tall Australian guy on a state-by-state tour of America, heck we even had one of the producers of the Duggar (sp?) family come in (their van passed by while I was ringing him up). But very rarely do I meet someone who sticks in my mind.
We had a man come in today wearing a handmade leather jacket and matching western style hat. Both had amazing American Indian style beading (also done by hand) and the jacket had the obligatory long fringe. When he turned I saw the words Cherokee and Choctaw beaded on the back. Being part Choctaw myself, I asked about it. I only expected a story about how he was really into his heritage, maybe even how he spent time around actual tribes.
What I did not expect was a story that inspired a blog post.
He started out saying he does have both tribes in his blood. Not uncommon in this area as the Trail of Tears passed close by here and the Choctaw would help some escape and welcome them into their villages. He then suddenly switched tracks and told me his son had passed away in recent years. He got really choked up as he told me he never blamed God, that even in his grief he knew his God had a purpose. That his son was meant to be an arrow in the war of the apocalypse. His son's name, which I never did catch because of the emotion in his voice, had even meant god's arrow. He started crying at this point and I couldn't help but tear up as well. He walked towards the door wondering aloud why he had even brought that pain up...
I rang up another customer and when I finished the man was standing there again. He had remembered what he had started to tell me.
After his son's death he spent a lot of time asking God why. He asked what he needed to do to get his affairs in order, to make things right for this life and the next. That was when he realized he had never in his life honored his Native heritage. So now he focus on doing just that.
We were hit with our after school rush then so we had to cut the conversation short. But that his grief, so obvious and raw, had led him to a live-path he would have never known and that has made him feel so complete.... obviously that could never fill the gap his loss left, but it was, moving...
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I am a devil worshipper...

Or so I have been told. My family says it because my husband and I are Wiccan. But I've heard that one a million times; it is an unfortunate part of living in the bible belt. The reason I was given today though just blew me away. I work with this wonderful older woman, she gives so much to other people and asks nothing in return. After her husband passed away she continued his work with the volunteer fire department, she would give her last dime to help a stranger. I truly respect this woman so I mean no insult to her as I write this.
Now, as far as a coworker goes, we don't really get along. She has always been the first to look for anything I may have overlooked, which I wouldn't mind (I appreciate constructive criticism) except she has not once said anything to me, preferring instead to go through a different coworker. She has never been very open to casual conversation, especially if I try to start it. Ever since we have worked together I've thought I had accidentally offended her in some way. Well, today the topic came up with a coworker because it has really been bothering me but she's also the type to not want to offend you so I couldn't ask her. Said coworker explained to me that because she is a very devout Christian she views snakes as a form of the devil.
Umm, what? She doesn't like me, not because I breed snakes and she just has a fear of them, but because snakes are the devil...?! Would someone please explain this too me? Lol. I'm not offended. I can respect her views, despite being completely confused by them. And knowing why she seems so reluctant to accept me actually makes it much easier to work with her. I am simply baffled...
Feel free to comment with the strangest reason you have ever been given for why someone dislikes you :)
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Monday, February 21, 2011

My journey into uncharted crunchy-ness!

Okay so I know my resolution was to phase out plastic this year... well, maybe I'll get around to that later... instead I am going to explore the deepest secrets of the wilderness that is Crunchy-ville!
Step one: family cloth. I honestly didn't think I could do it... DH said he refused to live in the same house as family cloth... and yet, we have succeed in a 95% transition! I'm 100% in home, haven't figured out the travel bit yet and we hardly ever go anywhere these days... DH is okay with it unless he has access to toilet paper... Notes: You need about 3 times as many as you think you'll use between laundry days... especially if you have our luck... (don't ask...)
Step 2: No-Poo <3 this one is my favorite so far, and the reason I decided to chronicle our journey... DH is still pretty against it for himself but hey, 2 outta 3 Herp family members ain't bad (Gator-bug doesn't really get a say but he seems a lot happier without the baby shampoo every bath). I was on day 3 or 4 today of just water & was feeling pretty grungy so I mixed up the baking soda paste, did a vinegar rinse, and may I say WOW! My hair felt genuinely thicker as soon as I started rinsing the soda out, although it had the same texture as right after you dye your hair... so I did the vinegar rinse which made it detangle instantly & very soft, but took some of the volume out... it dried frizzy so I think I need to work on the amount of soda I use... but definitely impressed!
Taking suggestions for other crunchy experiments!
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Monday, February 7, 2011

I literally feel nauseous... I feel like I just vaporized my heart... I feel hollow & about to explode all at the same time... and yet, I don't feel a damn thing.
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Monday, October 18, 2010

A new year

With Samhain fast approaching I have found myself wondering why I would bother making resolutions in January when now, the wiccan new year, is such a powerful time?
First, for my family- over the next year we will phase out plastic from our home. That means no more plastic straws, no more tupperware, no plastic travel mugs... I plan on buying a set of Strawesome straws (ok, several sets cuz they're all so beautiful...), as well as some LunchBots (very cool metal lunch/storage boxes)... I am very excited to get that much closer to a "green" home!
For me: totally cliche, but I'm going to get back in shape... I'm back down to (mostly) the size I want to be but I tried to do a single sit-up the other day & failed SOOOO miserably! So I'm gonna be getting my Ab Lounge from my parents & getting back on that. Also, now that I have my mei-tai, I can start taking Gator-bug on walks around the farm :)
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Thursday, September 16, 2010

hmm, just realized it's been awhile since I've posted... well, the end of the praying mantis breeding season is here, bringing with it the tragic death of our males :( we have one left... our females are all blooming wonderfully however :) with their cute pink bellies stretched out, just waiting to lay the egg sacks. and then in a few months we will have hundreds of teeny tiny babies!
we have also added a mostly white hurricane to our family... otherwise known as an 8 month old pit bull named Goob (my almost 14 month old named him, lol). he needs a little work- his previous owners apparently didn't mind having him jump on them (I have a few lovely bruises & small scratches to prove it)- but he's still just a puppy & they are rambunctious...
On the almost-toddler front: still no real walking :( he takes a step or two here & there, and can almost run with his hand on the wall or holding my hand, but he just seems so reluctant to let go of the crawling stage... he loves to give kisses now & will drop his toy just to "run" over and give me a few kisses, then go back to playing like it never happened. unfortunately, the past few days have also brought us to the "why don't you understand" stage... he will babble, then get loud, then clap his hands in obvious frustration, & he occasionally will flail his hands around & whack me in the face... the hitting is our primary issue, although I'm fairly clueless on how to get rid of it... my dad's way was to smack our hands but to me that just encourages the mindset that violence solves problems...
We're in the process of planning our first real Samhain celebration! I'm soooo excited because it's also our first holiday that we are properly celebrating :)
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Friday, September 3, 2010

Whadya think?

=I'm seeing so many of my mommy friends starting up WAHM businesses & they seem to really enjoy it! I'm FINALLY in the process of starting up my own :) The thought of making cloth diapers seriously intimidates me though so I'm going to focus on nursery stuff like blankets, curtains, crib rail guards (the ones that protect baby from eating the varnish, not like bumper pads...), all completely green & natural of course! Now if I could just figure out where to start...
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