Thanksgiving

I made Thanksgiving dinner:  roast turkey and gravy, spicy sweet potato and peanut stew, broccoli, cranberry sauce (from scratch!) and pumpkin pie with spicy oat crust.  Belle filled up on sparkling Bing cherry juice and leftover Halloween cookies while the turkey cooked.  She later chewed up some broccoli and spit it out.  We shared cage free eggs fried in coconut oil instead of turkey because she asked for eggs.

I finished the night with a slice of delicious pumpkin pie. I ladled myself some gravy for later, thinking I could put Belle to bed and eat my dinner.  I fell asleep right along with Belle and stayed there until well after sunrise.  I may never eat everything all at once with an active toddler around.  I had planned to make dressing until Belle tore into the box, and that box got re-purposed as a compost receptacle.

Jive turkey

I finally roasted last year's spare turkey last Tuesday.  Belle wouldn't try any of it.  I ate the drumsticks and turned the rest into soup I shared with last weekend's guest.  On Wednesday I made turkey and white bean soup.  On Thursday I made turkey broth.  On Saturday I used the broth to make turkey, white bean and collard green soup, adding in canned beans and frozen greens at the final ten minutes.  On Sunday I made pumpkin turkey soup from whatever meat simmered off the last of the carcass and half a roasted pumpkin.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Me

Hypnotherapist, Writer and Speaker.

Home

My house has never felt like home until now.

Medium

I agreed to pull tarot cards for a friend interested in a message from the other side.  I felt urged to deliver a specific message about the child of the deceased.  A hummingbird appeared in the window above the front door.  It hovered near the Kuan Yin statue I keep above the entry way.  I gave my friend a piece of rose quartz I'd had up there to help her connect and heal.  I took Belle upstairs to grab a few books that might explain hummingbirds as a symbol.  Belle reached out and flipped the same switch that blew out the ceiling fan a couple weeks ago.  The spirit quickly manifested in a tiny cloud of smoke, indicating he's been here trying to reach us for a while.  We had a very healing session once we all sat down.  Even Belle could sense and see him.  She'd been seeing him here for days.  I can now say I have had a spirit pounding inside my head and playing with my toes.  Interesting.

On our own

This full moon I am dealing with the reality that Belle and I are on our own.  I am making peace with whatever is beyond my control and forgiving myself for what I had a hand in creating.  I won't ever feel the love or the support coming from those who I would most appreciate love or support from.  That's painful.

Run Devil

My creepy neighbor, the man who tried charming me with homemade food and wine before asking if he could buy me lingerie for Christmas (I declined!), and who eventually exposed himself to me while my child slept upstairs, has moved.  His sister and her husband found a buyer for their house about as soon as they put it on the market.  The creep and his mother have finally moved back to wherever they came from.  They shouldn't have been here to begin with.

I am fairly certain the creep was The Mountain as read in a Lenormand reading I had with Madame Nadia four months ago.  I used plenty of red pepper to hot foot this man from my life, per Madame Nadia's recommendation.  That Devil ran like hell after I laid the trick.  I have never seen so many home repairs and flutters of activity.  The creep even started driving the car that had set out untouched for years.  He was that serious about leaving.  It also helped that I'd threatened to report him for indecent exposure if ever he even breathed near me.

Madame Nadia also recommended I work with roses for healing.  My new neighbor's name is Rosie.  A beautiful rose has planted herself in the creep's place.  I am very excited and hopeful now that old, creepy energy has passed, and new, fresh energy has arrived.  Rose held a bottle of olive oil with dried rosemary inside the bottle, a wedding favor from friends, when we met.  That's symbolic.  The coffee on my hands was also symbolic.  I feel very good about this.

Run Devil Run

My creepy neighbor, the man who tried charming me with homemade food and wine before asking if he could buy me lingerie for Christmas (I declined!), and who eventually exposed himself to me while my child slept upstairs, has moved.  His sister and her husband found a buyer for their house about as soon as they put it on the market.  The creep and his mother have finally moved back to wherever they came from.  They shouldn't have been here to begin with.

I am fairly certain the creep was The Mountain as read in a Lenormand reading I had with Madame Nadia four months ago.  I used plenty of red pepper to hot foot this man from my life, per Madame Nadia's recommendation.  That Devil ran like hell after I laid the trick.  I have never seen so many home repairs and flutters of activity.  The creep even started driving the car that had set out untouched for years.  He was that serious about leaving.  It also helped that I'd threatened to report him for indecent exposure if ever he even breathed near me.

Madame Nadia also recommended I work with roses for healing.  My new neighbor's name is Rosie.  A beautiful rose has planted herself in the creep's place.  I am very excited and hopeful now that old, creepy energy has passed, and new, fresh energy has arrived.  Rose held a bottle of olive oil with dried rosemary inside the bottle, a wedding favor from friends.  That's symbolic.  The coffee on my hands was also symbolic.  I feel very good about this.

Coffee date

Ruthia surprised us with her presence this morning.  Belle and I were fighting over a bowl of yogurt when I heard someone knock at the door.  Startled, and clad in a funny headpiece over a torn tee shirt and skirt, I timidly answered the door.  I gave Ruthia a tarot reading and shared a cup of coffee.  Belle showed her disinterest by eventually pooping on the floor.  That cleared Ruthia out real quick!

Magic food

Belle and I magically manifested two extra bags of food today.  We got apple juice, applesauce, apricot halves, boxes of cheesy grits, boxed macaroni and cheese and mustard greens in cans.  I already know Belle likes the cheesy grits.  I like the mustard greens drained and simmered with Sriracha.  The mac and cheese "expired" three years ago.  I bet the pasta is good still.  The seasoning packets contain food coloring and will be thrown away.  Thanks, Universe!

Gratitude

I own my life as a beneficiary.  I am grateful for my education and my experiences.

Water on the Moon

I'd had enough of our greasy, grimy kitchen floor yesterday.  I dissolved a couple capfuls of vinegar in warm water, grabbed a dish rag and started scrubbing the floor.  Belle grabbed a clean baby wipe, dunked it into the floor wash and started scrubbing the floor and wiping the cabinets.  She put her face into the water while it was still fresh and took a sip.  Then Belle climbed into the wash pan and dipped her little diapered bum in.  I just kept scrubbing, determined to bring some order to the room we use the most.

My dress, a purple bathing suit cover-up with a drawstring at the hem, crept up in my feverish attempt at housekeeping.  Belle, feeling confident, threw water on the moon and laughed wildly about it.  I about died.  Belle's sense of humor is burgeoning.  A couple nights ago, she cackled as she imitated the sound of me passing gas.  Belle is also in the habit of wrinkling her nose whenever I yell "poop" and "shit."

Playing through the tears.

Belle and I rise very early these days, thanks to Pacific Standard and "toddler time."  I had ample time for a hot and savory breakfast before leaving for mass today.  We arrived at church early enough to choose seats up front for a change.  Belle kept fidgeting, which made mass a challenging experience.  I fed her crackers and a juice box to keep her content until Communion.  After Communion, I decided to walk us toward the exit door so we could be ready to go after the final prayer.  Belle nearly yanked a plaque off the wall near where we stood.  Mortified, I darted out of there quickly, thinking we could walk down to Starbucks.  Belle had other plans, of course.  I dragged her crying and squirming to the nearest park, where she happily played through her feelings.  I eventually made my coffee at home, hours later.

Food run

Belle and I made a mid-morning food run.  No coffee beans this time, sadly.  I will substitute Thank You points I converted into a Starbucks card for that.  We did find blueberry pie, chocolate chips, coconut cream and red velvet cupcakes.  I am thawing organic, kosher chicken thighs for dinner, to be served with Brussels sprouts and rice.  I froze the salmon and stored the sardines in tomato sauce and tuna in water in the pantry.

Thirty-two years...

I spent the thirty-second anniversary of my mother's murder and my father's suicide eating frosted sugar cookies with Belle.  We left a trail of frosted sugar cookie crumbs all over our home and Starbucks.  Belle seemed extra loving and affectionate all day, which is surely what I needed.  Later on, at bed time, Belle transferred some of that loving energy into her picture books.  She somehow managed to spit my lip open as she excitedly handed me yet another book to read.  I found the experience sobering, especially when a light bulb burned out as I sprinted to the bathroom to stop the bleeding, and I realised a load of laundry needed to be done as I hunted for bulbs in the laundry room.  Life goes on, I guess.

Diet

I am very pleased with Belle's diet today.  I served a three egg and cheese omelet, a sweet potato, cabbage sauteed with onion, white rice, a high fiber sweet roll and cheese cubes for brunch.  Belle ate some of each:  omelet, sauteed onion, sweet roll and cheese cubes.  She handed me a jar of squash puree to open and ate most of that.  That's better than the countless tubes of yogurt and Saltines she kept slurping down last week.  I also see another baby tooth coming in to match the four or five she already has.  Wonderful!  Now if I can keep her away from the last of the Halloween candies...

Manifestation

Last night I got very clear on what I want in my professional life.  I wrote it all down and slept on it.  I brought the same journal with us to the park this morning.  I expanded the entry and added, "send me the people I can be of service to."  I put the journal down and checked messages from my phone.  What did I find waiting for me online?  I found an invitation to be a contributing writer for a new online publication.  The sender had sent me the message as I sat writing my wishes.  That was fast!

Cordial

Belle and I spied the niece of the creepy neighbor, happily playing outside as the family move house.  Fortunately, we didn't see the creepy neighbor, nor did we look for him.  Belle had so much excess energy after Halloween, an early morning doctor's appointment and a last minute house guest that I needed her to be with another child to give me a break.  The niece, a second grader, filled Belle's watering can with water from her watering can and showed Belle how to water the grass and plants.  Belle seemed mesmerized.  The girl's mother and grandmother didn't know how to take it.  They greeted me cordially but I could sense the tension.  Something was said in Spanish that I didn't try to understand.  Whatever happened, I didn't cause it.  If the creep deluded himself into believing we were in a relationship, imagine what he told his family?