Overcoming Obstacles

Yay I have my computer back! It had to have a power button replaced but now he's back and I can write again.

So after reconnecting with my inner self I knew that there was something else that I really had to do that I had been putting off for a looooong time. So I had my very first art contest and I gave a winner video a short time afterwards...but I was a little late getting the prizes together. So why did it take so long? Well on many occasions I was going to purchase my materials but then I was out of money because I spent on bills, or other projects that I felt like were more important which is a terrible excuse. Commitments should always come first. Then there was the disconnect that I felt and it really took a toll on me. It's amazing how a certain mindset can affect you. Things slip through your fingers and when you look at the calendar and so much time has gone by...it can be a bit disconcerting. I felt like I couldn't write because I hadn't done the prizes. It had been such a long time and in my head I thought people would be like "where's the stuff you promised?". I felt like I couldn't do something because I had to finish my promise first. But sometimes you need a break to step back and really look at a situation before you can handle it. So I did. I looked at myself for the first time in a long time and I kissed the mirror before getting back into the swing of things.

(A picture where I felt truly magical and fully with myself mind, body, and spirit)

So after I felt my magical renewal I knew what I had to do, I got to work with my crafty self. Doing this was so much fun and I really can't wait to make more bobbles. For a first time craft I felt really good about these. I had never worked with wire before and the more I worked with it the better I got. The next thing was the soaps. I was really worried about making them just as I was with the necklaces but I turned on some calming music and the next thing I knew I had three bars of soap done. I made an extra one for May and I hope that he and the winners from the contest enjoy it. I already got a confirmation from one of the winners and I can't wait to hear about the other two!

(Magical Crafting)

So I got over a hurdle even if it took some time. And for anyone that is struggling know that I love you and I know that you can do this. You can kick ass and you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. And if you want some ideas on how to get out of a funk try reading this post.

Have a great Tuesday everyone,

Love and Icing Kisses,

J.S.

Tell Me About It Tuesday: Tattoos

I have always wanted to get a tattoo.

When I was growing up my parents told me that there were certain things that they did not want us kids doing. One of them was getting a tattoo. My mom actually threaten to cut the skin, where the ink, was off with a rusty butcher knife. And that was enough to give any kid nightmares for a few years. But two of my sisters, one of my brother-in-laws, and my sister-in-law all have at least one.

There is a tattoo convention that comes to town once a year and I told my boyfriend about it. He has always wanted to get covered up in tats but hasn't because sometimes they can be really expensive. But this convention offers HUGE discounts and he really wants to get started by getting just one. I do too but I don't know which to start with.  I do know that I want a tattoo to represent the different sides of me. So I have some pictures (not the ones I'm going to use, just to give you an idea) of what I might want.

1) Bite Marks-This one actually has a funny story.  So when me and my boyfriend first started getting intimate I would leave all this hickeys and bruises on his neck and body mostly because he has very poor circulation and it doesn't take much to leave a mark on him. Anyway, for the longest time I wanted a hickey, or a mark of passion if you will. And Nate's a biter so we were a little discouraged when every mark he left disappeared after an hour, because I have very good circulation. Well one day he bit really hard on my chest and almost drew blood. There on my chest was a huge bite mark and I was so happy. It took days to heal but I didn't care. So I would want to have a bite mark on my chest where my heart is. To show that someone has my heart. That it is his and no one else's.

2) Fairies-Yesterday Nathan said that I was a fairy in a past life. I believe that maybe I some fairy relatives in my family because of how I feel connected to people, nature, magic, and things of that nature. So what I want is a vine going up my leg, maybe up to my knee, and to have the seven colors of the rainbow as flowers on the vine. And to have a fairy by each rose either smelling them or helping them grow. This I feel shows my pride as a gay individual and shows my love for my fairy side.

3) Angel-I've always wanted an angel on my shoulder. I love angels and I do believe in them. This way I always have someone watching out for me and to help me make the right choices in life. Also Nathan's nickname for me has always been Angel so there is that significance too.

4) The Libra Symbol- I am a Libra, Oct 3, and I have pride in my symbol. I would want this on one of my wrists.

5) Phoenix-The phoenix is a beautiful creature and my favorite one as well. A symbol of fire and rebirth. I wanted a phoenix with a broken chain around its ankle when i was younger to symbolize me breaking away from my old life and being reborn as someone else and taking flight. Now I don't know where I would get this. Maybe on my other shoulder? I don't know.


But those were just a few ideas. This is what I love about tattoos. They can mean anything and they can tell such amazing stories. So tell me in the comments what tattoos do you want or have? And what are the stories behind them?

Love and Icing Kisses,

J.S.

The Magic of Tarot

Welcome back to another segment of Tell Me About It Tuesday.

After reading Veronica's post about tarot yesterday I felt inspired to write about my own experiences with the tarot.

(Strength from the Paulina Tarot)

Magic has always interested me, especially when I was younger. I was drawn to it. I didn't get interested in tarot until I was about nine or ten years old. I'm almost a little embarrassed to admit this but it was from a T.V. show called The Vision of Escaflowne.

The show was a about an average high school girl named Hitomi. She was on the track team and she also told fortunes for her classmates via tarot. I just remember being so entranced by the cards and her ability to know their meaning just by looking at them. She ends up getting whisked away to another planet called Gaea and her psychic powers become even more powerful. It's a good show and I do recommend it to any anime lovers.

(A picture of some of Hitomi's cards)

I couldn't believe that someone could actually know your past, present, or future by using something as simple as cards. I wanted to have my fortune told by someone but being that I was a little kid and my parents frown upon something like this, I kept it my dream to myself. Then one day in my freshman year of high school my friend Amber brought her own tarot deck to class. I don't remember the name of it. All I can remember was that the cards had cartoon-ish looking dragons on them. She did a few card spreads for us and then asked if anyone of us wanted to have our own reading. I jumped at the chance. She told me to think of a question and only that question. So I closed my eyes and focused on my question while shuffling the cards in my hands. I gave her back her cards and she started the spread. I don't remember all the cards that were used. All I remember was the last card. The card that was supposed to be my answer.

I was about seventeen when I bought my first deck which was the Rider-Watie Deck. I thought that this would be a good one to start with since this was the deck I saw the most. I used this deck a lot in college because I had friends that wanted advice about something in their lives and I was more than happy to get the practice in. It wasn't until my friend Mark showed up for on of our plays that noticed his deck, the Revelations Deck.

I didn't know about the vast possibilities when it came to the cards. This is when my friend, Tanya, asked me if my deck spoke to me or if I ever felt drawn to it. I told her not really. I just got it because I thought it was a good one to start with. She told me when buying anything magical you need to feel something for it. It needs to speak to you. And it took me a while to find the right cards but after all this searching I finally did. 

(The Zerner Farber Deck aka The Enchanted Tarot)

This was the first card that I saw and I fell in love. I finally understood what my friends meant. I felt drawn to these cards. I could hear them calling out to me. And they have been very helpful in all my readings. 

If any of you are ever interested in tarot and want to see what kinds of decks are out there I recommend Aeclectic Tarot or Tarot.com  although you can find decks pretty much anywhere. Just remember when purchasing your deck 

1) have a connection with it. If you feel drawn to it or if it speaks to you or maybe you can already see a story when you look at the cards. You need to feel something for it.

2) Never haggle for the prices of magical items. Just my advice.

Or maybe you don't really feel like tarot is your thing and you want to try orcale cards. There are a huge selection of those are well. In fact May-May uses them. His cards are the Oracle of Shadows and Light.

Well that's all I have for you today. And if you ever want a reading from me all you have to do is ask ;)

Icing kisses,

J.S.

Tell Me About It Tuesday: That's Amore

Welcome to the first entry of Tell Me About It Tuesdays.

I was at work scratching my head about what to write about and then I got my answer from one of my friends at work. He had recently broken up with his girlfriend and asked me if I could stay a little bit longer just to talk. And as we talked I kept seeing little red flags pop up when he talked about her. And I even made a point to tell him that. But he would say "No, I'm saying that wrong". So I listened and more and more red flags kept popping up.

Then a thought came to me. Why, why do we rationalize our bad relationships? Why stay with someone that makes you feel like your the only in the relationship? And then the wisest of sayings crept out of my memory.


"We accept the love we think we deserve"


Who in their right mind would think that they deserved that? And then I remember my one and only ex-girlfriend. I remember our eight months together and how I was always getting burned. Why didn't I get out sooner? I was young, that was my very first relationship, and I thought that I deserved it. I thought that I deserved all the things she put me through.  So today I want to tell you what you deserve.

1 Kindness-Everyone deserves someone who is kind. Someone that will hold you at your weakest and embrace you at your strongest. Someone who cares for you and not just themselves. And if you

2 Patience-Everyone deserves someone that will be patient. Sometimes we have things that we need to get through and that takes time. A person who loves you will not only wait but try to help you through whatever you are going through.

3 Honesty-Honesty and communication are the keys to any good relationship. Love doesn't keep secrets or makes you paranoid about your significant other. Be open with each other.

4 Acceptance-Love accepts you for you. It doesn't make you change yourself for somebody else. If you want to change yourself for your own needs then love supports it. Love sees all of your quirks and tells you how unique and amazing you are.

5 Safety-The one you are with should make you feel like you are safe in their arms and vice versa.You should feel safe that you are not going to be judge by something you do or say. When you are lying in bed together, or on the couch watching a movie or TV, you should feel protected from outside world. The reason why is whenever you two are alone you are in a sacred and safe place that only you two know.

6 Hope-A loving person hopes for the future and works hard at making that future a reality. They doesn't sit and waste their time nor do they focus on the negative aspects of life. Instead they try and look on the brighter side of things and make things  better.

7 Reliability-You should be able to count on someone. Someone that keeps their appointments and doesn't fall back on their promises is a good person. If someone says 'I'm always here for you whenever you need me' best keep that promise. Love is the person you call at 2 am when you're car is broken down on the side of the road.

9 Empathy-A caring person is someone that everyone needs. Not only will they ask about your problems and try to make you feel better, they will also go out and try to help their fellow man. A person who doesn't care about other living creatures doesn't have much love in their hearts. Also there are times when people get into a disagreement and sometimes it gets heated. A real realationship moves past it and forgives.

10 Fun-And this is the most important one. Love is fun. Love makes you feel like your a little kid again. It makes you believe in the magic of your childhood. It sees a hill and tells you 'hey let's have a race to see who can roll down that hill the fastest'. It makes you laugh, smile, and takes your breath away. A relationship without fun has no life and won't thrive.

I'm not saying that you need all of this but you do need a lot of it. It's what we all desreve in relationships. However there are also things we do not deserve.

We do not deserve abuse. If you are ever hit by someone then you leave. Love is not abusive. Love doesn't take list of all of your flaws. Love doesn't lie to you. Love doesn't force you to do things that you don't want to do. Love doesn't make you sacrifice. Love doesn't make you fear. Love isn't proud or boastful. Love isn't in it just for the sex or your appearence. Love does not dishonor you or others. Love doesn't leave you as a second choice.

And I really could go on but you get the picture I'm sure.

You, stranger at your computer, deserve love and  happiness. It is one of our unalienable rights. Something that can never be taken away. And I hope you receive that gift, if you haven't already. And if you haven't know that I love you.

Till Thursday, Sprinkes,

Love always and Icing Kisses

J.S.