The Smiling Spirit

Archive for the ‘4 Legged Family Members’ Category

No, really. Regardless of what you do for a living or what mistakes you’ve made in your past. The fact that you are sitting in your chair, right now, reading this makes you awesome.

Today is Sunday and being raised Christian, I automatically observe Sunday as the day of Spirit. Not a day of rest really, but a day in which I consciously seek connection to Spirit in the things that I do. Sunday is the day I water and/or feed my plants. I enjoy weed pulling and gardening on Sundays too. There’s just something wonderfully grounding (pun intended) about having your hands in the dirt and encouraging the Spirit around you into growth.

I like to spend Sunday playing with my children. The 2 AND 4 legged varieties. It’s the day of relaxation, enjoyment, love, reflection, a counting of one’s blessings.

Sometimes I find myself completely struck speechless by the wonder that is me. And you. Us! We are amazing! Today is one of those times. In the spirit of our collective AWESOMENESS, I’d like to present you with this wonderful video. Deepak Chopra really has a way of expressing the magnitude of our divinity that I love.

Happy Spirit Day to you and yours! May you find a direct line to the Source of all that is good and be in peace.

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This is what I’ve decided to construct. Not a Book of Shadows. I know that the name of that book is part of the witches tradition, but that is the beauty of being a Solitary and making your own traditions in my humble opinion.

I thought about constructing a Book of Shadows and was giving thought to what I’d want to include and the more I thought about it, the more I thought of things I would include. Then the more things I listed to include, the more the similarity of the nature of those things seemed.

The nature of all of the things I would include in my Book of Shadows are things related to energy and healing and life and creation and joy and love. Those are not things of shadow. Those are things of light.

I also believe that working around some of the seemingly darker aspects of “witchcraft” will help me to reach a broader audience and be more readily accepted if not understood. And it’s not that I’m seeking anyone’s acceptance, but more that I believe that if I can bridge the gap between myself and someone else simply by altering my language, why shouldn’t I?

Besides, I find the idea of a Book of Light so much more appealing.
I know witches are said to/to have kept information regarding their magic in their Book of Shadows, but I see it like this.

My LIFE is my magic! Everything in my life, I have created… manifested. Everything I am interested in and am pursuing is under my spell and part of my magic. And my LIFE and my interests and pursuits center specifically around my home and family and health and Spiritual growth.

Maybe it’s… non-traditional, but I went and got myself a 3 ring binder. If I read something online I want to include in my personal book, I print it, punch it and include it. I’m free to use my trusty highlighter and make notes in every margin to my heart’s content! I even have section separators and folders. It organized so many things for me. I had information floating all over about all kinds of things and now I have a single location for all of it!

This translates over to everyone! You don’t have to be a witch to have your own book. Especially for the homemaker or mother. There’s so much we do and are responsible for. It really is wonderful to have a place to put it and a place to find it later! I even include a journal, calendar and my own personal “Tame the House” cleaning schedule/routine that helps me to conquer the chaos of life with boys!

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Welcome to my Monday!
After being home for SIXTEEN (16!) days for winter break, my sons were scheduled to return to school today….f-i-n-a-l-l-y-!

Well, I’ve been denied! Mother Nature, in an apparent bid for “Last Comic Standing” has, on her very own schedule, tossed a big lake effect snow storm at us. Picture this… the little red wagon… old fashioned shape but with the bigger, updated, thicker tires… upside down in the back yard. Now completely invisible. Gone.

Hubby got called out to work last night and ended up putting his truck in a ditch on his way home. Luckily he only works 2 miles from home. He walked back to the shop at 3am and got in the tow truck and drove back to our road and winched himself out. Then after towing his truck back to the shop, unhooking it and heading home again, he got stuck in the driveway. So, he ended up warming up the plow truck and plowing the driveway before coming back to bed.

So anyway, in the face of all the irritation this little storm has dumped into my lap, I give you….

The Top 8 Reasons Why I ♥ Snow Days!

#8 Snow drifts in my yard sometimes exceed 4 feet in height.

#7 It gives me an excuse to stay home.

#6 I find snow absolutely delightful. Watching it dance to the ground is bliss in my world.

#5 I’m wearing fuzzy, warm socks. I ♥ fuzzy, warm socks!

#4 I laugh watching the weather forecasters scramble about because lake effect snow is nearly impossible to predict and they all end up looking like asses before the storm clears.

#3 Watching the dogs run, play, and chase through the snow.

#2 My man drives a tow truck. Nuff said.

And the #1 reason that I ♥ snow days is:
There’s so much damn snow on the ground by the time they FINALLY decide to close schools around here that, if the kids are home, they spend most of their time

OUTSIDE PLAYING IN THE SNOW!!!!

I hope your Monday is going wonderfully :)

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Today I have a neat tip for all you cat owners out there. I adore my cats. Truly. But when we go to bed at night, they take it upon themselves to jump up on the counter and do whatever they want to. I am SO not down with this.

I know there are some of you out there who let your cats go wherever they want to, including the kitchen counter. My friend K is one of those people! *Points@K* I’m personally of the belief that they stand in poopy cat litter and therefore not on my kitchen counter tops. So, if you take no issue with licky marks in your butter, disregard what I’m about to say.

Last night I was suddenly struck by a solution to my dilemma. Very suddenly. It jumped right into my head from nowhere. I hadn’t even been thinking about that silly cat, but I got up and went immediately to the kitchen to set my plan into motion.

Hubby came around the corner and saw what I was doing, and with a puzzled look asked, “What the HELL are you doing?”

I took out 2 shallow cookie sheet/baking pans and 2 cake pan lids and arranged them end to end along the part of the counter top where I know the cat jumps up. My kitchen isn’t that big, so it wasn’t hard to figure out. It’s also the area where I most often find things upside down on the floor in the morning.

Then, I filled each, low, shallow vessel to the very top with cold water, and pushed them back just far enough as to be out of sight from the floor, but close enough to the front that there’s no way to avoid landing with at least a foot or two in a wet spot.

Brilliant!!

I swear, I’ve never been more proud of myself. LOL And I don’t think that cat has ever liked me less :) About 20 minutes after we were in bed last night, we heard a sudden clang and then what I can only assume was a very wet, startled and angry cat running through the house, ironically, as though her tail was on fire.

I don’t know if we’ll have a repeat or not, but I intend to put everything back out, every night for at least a few more days. *insert evil laugh*

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Enjoy These Great Resources!

• Need Help? You Can Heal Your Life
  
• Smile Across Your Heart: The Process of Building Self Love
  
• Love Your Body, Love Your Life: 5 Steps to End Negative Body Obsession and Start Living Happily and Confidently
  

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I woke up this morning at 7am. Early for a Saturday but considering I’ve had food poisoning for the past 3 days, I was just happy to be waking up from a sound night’s sleep. I wandered out into the living area of the house where both dogs and both cats were circling the living room. It’s unusual for them all to be in one room together. They don’t fight, but the dogs are a little rough and the cats aren’t very appreciative.

So anyway, I put Bandit outside and the cats both ignored me and went about their business of playing. Abby followed me to my chair at the table where she laid down at my feet while I settled in with my laptop to await my coffee. When the coffee maker let out its final spit and sputter, I went to the kitchen to get a mug of the jolt juice.

When I got back, moments later, and sat back down, Abby had gone over into the living room by the door, presumably to wait for Bandit’s return. I sipped my coffee a couple times and made an appearance on “School of Wizardry” on Facebook, which is my latest addiction!

When movement caught my eye, I looked over and there was Abby, on the floor by the door, chewing on Scott’s work shoe!! We just bought those shoes back in the beginning of the summer. They’re high quality, all leather, Red Wing, work shoes. Damn things were $150, and came with one helluva warranty on them. I jumped from my chair in anger and stomped over to her.

She didn’t even budge. Usually when she’s doing something bad and sees that she’s been spotted, she runs and hides because she knows mommy is mad. Not this time. Odd. When I got to her, I bend down and grabbed the shoe away from her, but was surprised to find that she wasn’t actually holding it in her mouth. She had her mouth… well, her entire snout, shoved INSIDE the shoe.

Huh?!

I swung the front door open to let the light in and held the shoe up to examine the damage. As I looked the shoe over, expecting puncture marks where tiny K9 teeth had bitten in, I was very surprised to find nothing. Not a mark. Not even a wet spot where her spit had soaked in. Nothing.

For a reason I can’t consciously explain, I then turned the shoe long ways with the toe of the shoe farthest away from me, lifted the tongue, and looked into the shoe. You can imagine my surprise when I realized after a brief moment that the skinny little brown stripe along the inside of the shoe wasn’t dirt or a fabric crease, but was, in fact, a tiny little mouse tail.

Holy crap! There’s a mouse in the shoe! I looked down and there’s Abby, sitting ever so pretty at my feet, staring up longingly at the shoe I now hold with her morning appetizer in it. I took the shoe outside and thumped it on the porch until the tiny little field mouse plopped down into the heel. I tipped him out onto the deck and watched him hop swiftly away and off the side of the porch. He looked like a kangaroo that was hit by a shrink ray. Cutest little thing. LOL

Abby was so entirely unimpressed by my act of mercy. I’ve never actually seen a dog scowl before, but I’m pretty sure I did this morning. Scott, while unimpressed with my act of mercy because he feels that sending them outside just makes them come back in to be caught again, was however relieved at the idea of not jamming his foot into a shoe next to a mouse.

HA! Too funny. I can just imagine the jig that would’ve ensued after the realization that he was sharing his shoe with a tiny critter! Hysterical. Of course the tiny critter would’ve been killed, so it’s better this way. I’m a softy. Can’t kill anything.

I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday and I hope any little surprises YOU get today are welcomed and enjoyable.

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*You enjoyed my post and would like to buy me coffee?!
WOW! I really appreciate that!*

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Enjoy These Great Resources!

• Need Help? You Can Heal Your Life
  
• Smile Across Your Heart: The Process of Building Self Love
  
• Love Your Body, Love Your Life: 5 Steps to End Negative Body Obsession and Start Living Happily and Confidently
  

*Subscribe to The Smiling Spirit*
in a reader or by Email

About cats…

I’ve been a “cat person” for as long as I can recall. When I was a child, we generally had 4-5 cats in the house at all times. This was partly due to my parents taking in strays and partly to do with us being so dirt poor that having the animal spayed or neutered was out of the question. It’s not all that hard to have a house full if you end up with 2 pregnant females from your 2 or 3 virile males.

Now the dog side…
Read the rest of this entry »

This video is amazing. It’s very short, at less than a minute, but it’s totally worth the watch.
It made me sit here and bawl, but I’m a big, fat, cry baby so that’s not saying too much. LOL
It’s just touching. I’m glad I got to start this fantastic Monday by watching it.

Happy Monday!