A Loss to the World of Stage and Screen

This sort of goes with the theme of my blog.

I woke up this morning to more sad news today. With the death of David Bowie fresh in the minds of everyone this week, we lose yet another talented icon: Alan Rickman. The first words out of my mouth when I read these words was a sorrowful "NO!!".

My favorite Alan Rickman movies are Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Galaxy Quest. Robin Hood has always been one of my favorite stories, but this film has to be one of my all time favorite (live action) versions (as my favorite Robin Hood telling is Disney's cartoon version...gotta love that fox). I was always fascinated with Rickmans portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham. He played him so well...sinister and semi-deranged, and portrayed a perfect death scene at the end with his last look at the sun before dying.

Galaxy Quest provided him an opportunity to show some humor, amid his more sinister roles. I love how he portrayed Alexander Dane or "Dr. Lazarus" in the movie who was annoyed at being seen as a typecast actor, and tired of repeating the same line "By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged" until he finally embraced it and said it with heart when one of his alien-friends died at the hand of an alien bad-guy.

But, to make this post my-blog-appropriate, I won't, forget to mention his excellent contribution to the Harry Potter franchise. Who didn't love to hate Professor Severus Snape until we found out he wasn't actually so evil? I don't know about anyone else, but (***SPOILER***) MY jaw dropped when I found out how much he cared for Lili Potter and was devastated by her death. Talk about a 180 degree change in feeling.

It will be sad to know we will never see any new portrayals from this absolutely talented actor, but his legacy will live on in the so many great movies he has made. I might have to watch me some Robin Hood later.

Remembrance Day

I don't normally get overly interested in Remembrance day. Oh, I always take a moment at 11am to pay my respects to the fallen, and remember military personnel currently serving (my husband being one), but it wasn't until now, having a conversation while tucking my daughter in bed why I should take Remembrance Day (or Veterans Day for my US readers) a bit more seriously.

Thinking back, my father finally told me some history about his family (he's been rather secretive about his family...I don't know anyone from his side). My grandfather, his father, fought in World War II as a Navy Sailor. His boat was struck by a German U-Boat and sank...with my grandfather aboard.

My grandfather is among the many hero's we should be remembering. There are several military members in my family that I have neglected to remember, and at this time it makes me regret those years I spent only thinking of those I didn't know, and appreciating the freedom I enjoy now.

Tomorrow, as I finally attend a live ceremony (as I had only been able to watch the ceremonies on television), not only will I feel immense pride in my husband for his services, but I'll also remember my grandfather and his sacrifice for our freedom. I'm expecting it to probably be an emotional morning.


**LEST WE FORGET**

OT: Under the Dome Review So-Far

Well, so far I've watched all episodes of "Under the Dome" and I have to say I'm quite disappointed (though I shouldn't be, hollywood is well known for butchering stories when they turn them into movies). Trying to explain whats happening in the show to my husband (who never read the book) is impossible for the simple fact that it's nothing like the book, except for the names of many of the characters and the fact that a town called "Chester's Mill" is under a transparent dome. 

I only continue to watch the show because my husband is so interested. I'm almost sorry I got him into it. If he had read the book, he probably also would want to turn it off. The last episode I watched introduced a character that wasn't in the book, so it's very confusing. My husband asks who she is and I have to tell him "I have no idea, she wasn't in the book". As well, many characters remain who should have died a long time ago.

It's fairly disappointing. I was really hoping they'd stick as close as they could to the book, but unfortunately it's only coincidental that it's the same town's name under a dome...the story line has changed dramatically. Yup, very disappointed.

OT: Physiotherapy

Ok...off topic post, and more of a rant than anything else really.

Seeing as I've now found a doctor (whom I really hope is permanent for a great number of years), I've taken it upon myself to have my health taken care of properly. I've been suffering for a long time with lower back pain...something I've attributed to Sciatica, though never had it confirmed. My doctor (a lovely woman) suggested I try physiotherapy. Seeing as I've never tried physiotherapy, I thought, what could it hurt? Perhaps this might relieve my pain...it's either this or seeing a Chiropractor.

Well, the jokes on me I suppose. I thought that I would be getting some good care with physiotherapy, regularly seeing a physiotherapist (twice a week for two weeks then once a week for eight)...you know, I go in, he does his thing, I do my exercises, I feel better. Wrong!

I'm still feeling pain, I've seen the therapist ONCE in the three appointments I've had, and the longest a therapy session lasted is maybe 15-20 minutes...doing work BY MYSELF!

I'm disappointed in my care. I know that in the future should I need physiotherapy, I won't be going back to this physiotherapy center. It almost seems like they're focusing on the wrong parts of my back that I'm having issues with.

At this same place, I also have massage therapy. Nice. I like massages, but she seems to specialize in deep tissue massage and that's something I'm not used to. After my first appointment I felt like the lower left side of my back was completely bruised. I expected to hurt a bit afterwards, as she said it might, but not that bad. PLUS...my pain is not on the left side, it's on the right!

I'm just very disappointed in how my pain is being managed. I was doing better taking advil on a daily basis. Maybe I'll have a talk with my doctor when I see her next week. Perhaps she can suggest something else, because to me, this isn't working. I'm not expecting any miracles, but seriously...nothing's being done. Sure the people who work at this place are nice and all, but nice doesn't make me better.
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UPDATE
I had another appointment at physio and I have to say I'm a bit happier. The actual physiotherapist finally showed up, and we went over a few new exercises. Things were still quite painful for me. He tried doing an adjustment on my hip, felt like my hip bone was being driven into the table. Other than a bit of pain, I feel better having actually done something at physio. My next appointment at the office will be another massage. Hopefully I can go home and not feel like my lower back has been bruised again afterwards.

Under the Dome

Ok, so this is SOOOO, way off topic for this blog, but I'm just too excited and giddy not to share lol.

Next month is the premier of "Under the Dome" by Stephen King on CBS (I do believe). I read the book, and it was really good (and VERY heavy and thick lol). They decided to create a miniseries of 13 episodes (I think), and I soooooo can't wait to see it.

I picked up the book on a whim when my sister-in-law was looking at books at Wal-Mart and thought to myself, I haven't bought myself a book in a long time. I guess I was meant to read it because it was awesome from the first pages...I...I just couldn't put it down. All through reading the book, I kept thinking to myself, this would make a GREAT movie. Then when I heard it was going to be a miniseries on tv...I jumped for joy.

I'm just so giddy and excited I just can't wait to see it. Next month just CANNOT come fast enough!!!

Heres a sample video of it:

UNDER THE DOME

OT: New Toy!!

My dear hubby got me a new toy to play with. My poor laptop is pretty much on its last legs. It's starting to fall apart, it's dedicated to a power cord, and is 3 years old. The other day, my dear hubby was kind enough to buy me something to replace my old laptop that has given me years of faithful service.

He bought me an iPad! BUT...that's not all.

Because I find it difficult to type on just the iPad surface (I need to be able to feel the keys in order to type as fast as I think), he also bought me a keyboard iPad case. I love it. When I don't want to use the keyboard, I turn it off, and I fold it behind my iPad and use my iPad sans keyboard. When I want it, I fold the back of the case into a trianglular shape and set my keyboard on my lap and I have a mini laptop. Sweet!!

The only problem is I keep searching for the touchpad like I did with my laptop lol. I have to get used to finding what I want by moving the screen, rather than using a touchpad or a mouse. I also have to get used to not having a home and end key. Usually when I make a mistake, I will use these keys to erase these mistakes OR use them in web searches to go to the top or bottom of a page. But...minor sacrifices.

I love that now I will be able to bring it with me and read. I have several books on PDF that I got from the resouces on my sidebar that I would like to read, and I will be able to read them when I am out somewhere waiting for...whatever (i.e. doctor appointments) OR when my husband decides he wants to go to the cottage for a week, and I have no internet connection (it's literally in the boonies lol).

So, I have my new toy, and will be using it from now on to be updating my blog. The only problem? My signiture doesn't exist on my laptop, so unless I use my old, beat up laptop, I won't be adding my signiture to the end of my posts anymore. How sad, because I love it.

...BUT...small sacrifices :) :)

Recent Goings-On

I went out today. My initial reason for going was to get the water from my hot tub tested (yes, I'm lucky enough to have a hot tub, however it's more work than most people think). Once I had finished with my initial task I thought I would take some time for myself and do a little window shopping. I went to the mall and started at the book store. I think I found a couple books I might want to purchase. One is like a Witch's Complete book. More or less a book of shadows, but I found it interesting. I also saw a beautiful leather bound journal with a leather strap holding it closed. Not sure if I'm going to get it or not because it's about $47 (that's a bit much for me). I also found some beautiful journals with intricate designs on it...and HINGED CLASPS!! The clasps are kind of small but beautiful nonetheless. I'm almost thinking of buying two...one for straight spells and one for straight rituals. I haven't decided completely on purchases yet, hence why I was window shopping. These are items I would like to purchase. Whether I do or not will depend when pay day comes.

My next stop was to two health food stores. The first I went looking in for some essential oils to start putting to practice what I learned in my course (my exam is tomorrow and I'm a bit nervous about it. I really hope I do well). Unfortunately, they were out of lavender (lavender being an almost all-purpose aid oil), and said they might not get any in for a couple days. So I'll wait. The second store I went to also had no lavender (lavender seems to be a very popular oil). Well, actually they had a 15ml bottle of lavender oil, but nothing was really priced there, so I didn't know how much they wanted for the 15ml bottle, so I didn't get it.

I was also a little giddy to see they were selling homeopathic tablets. Unfortunatly again they were not price labelled so I couldn't tell how much they were. Payday may involve some communication with store staff should I decide to purchase some homeopathic remedies and oils. I'm really looking to start being the guinea pig. Kinda almost wish I still had my narsty cold, so I can see how long it would take for me to recover from it, on homeopathic remedies vs. leaving myself be. Typically it takes about 2 or 3 weeks for me to recover from cold. I also seem to be suffering from some dermatitis. I was hoping to obtain some lavender and jojoba oils and applying it to my dermatitis to see how well it does.

I hate not having funds when I really need it. BUT...I think funds will come when the universal forces think I'm ready for it, so I'll remain patient. I'll just keep dreaming of things I'd like to purchase lol.





Ma’iingan

"It's the End of the World as We Know It"

Ok, well it's actually supposed to be tomorrow, however if the world IS supposed to end tomorrow, will we really have internet for me to post this (now thinking about it, it almost seems redundant to post this, because if there IS an apocalypse tomorrow, there won't be internet, and no one will read this anyway lmao).

Anyways...so...tomorrow is supposed to be the BIG day, where the end of the world is supposed to happen, and there are all kinds of theories:

-Rogue planet is supposed to crash into the Earth (my favorite lol)
-Zombie apocalypse (my husband's favorite)
-Pole reversal (not really a cause for the end of the world, but a possible explanation of what's to happen tomorrow)
-Asteroid collision
-Hell freezing over (well, it IS freezing rain here where I live)
-Beginning of a new cycle in the planet

There ARE all kinds of fun ideas as to what's supposed to happen tomorrow. But personally (and I've been saying this since the hype started about this "Dec 21" nonsense), I don't believe anything is going to happen tomorrow. Nothing major anyways. I don't see there being major earthquakes, massive sinkholes (like shown on the movie 2012, which, actually, will be entertaining to watch after tomorrow)...nothing majorly noticeable.

On the flip side, though, I think (because my life is so boring outside of blogging and answering peoples repeated questions on Wicca and Witchcraft) it would be really interesting and exciting if something DID happen tomorrow...like for instance, the Zombie Apocalypse my husband is so adamant to believe will happen. I believe that I would grow very tired of it after about a year or so, but for at least the first six months, I'd be all "G.I. Jane"...sporting my tight jeans and black tank top...hair in a messy bun sporting semi-automatics in both hands shooting out zombies to rescue innocents from their narsty grasp. Hey...I can imagine once in a while if I like :)

The truth is, I don't know how to shoot a gun. I can hold guns...both rifles and hand...but to actually shoot one would take a few tries. I've tried pie-plate shooting once (my second attempt, I actually got what I was trying to shoot at). It would probably take me a few weeks to learn how to shoot properly, before I go around sporting the jeans and tank.

But I'm digressing from all this. It's funny how things go. Some random idiot "scientist" or "interpreter" of Mayan culture, misinterprets a calendar found during an archaeological dig (or search), and gets people going (sort of like that Harold Camping dude did). BUT...when you get actual Mayans telling you what the calendar says, no one listens.

Sounds familiar, no? Ask a Wiccan what Wiccans do and no one listens, but you ask a CHRISTIAN what a Wiccan does, and everyone believes them. This is the reason I believe nothing will happen (Well, actually, I believed nothing would happen because just like all the other doomsday predictions, nothing happened (i.e. Y2K)), because the Mayans and more smarter scientists claim it's just the end of the calendar (akin to December 31 of our calendar). I mean, in 3000 years from now, when our civilization is gone, and another comes along, and takes a look at our Gregorian calander and finds "December 31" and compares it to their calendar, are they going to freak out and say their world is going to end? Or are they going to look back at us and think of how ridiculous our society is for believing such nonsense.

I really don't see anything happening tomorrow. I'm far too much a realist and too rational to believe something major will happen. I'm not that lucky. Tomorrow will be Friday, and that's all it will be. It will have been exactly 1 year since my husbands accident at work, and nothing more (and let's hope nothing happens again (fingers crossed)).





Ma’iingan

Test Stress

As you may or may not know, I am in the midst of taking a course on herbalism, homeopathy and holistic healing. I tell you, the road has been tough...not so easy as I thought. Taking a course you've paid a LOT of money for can cause quite the amount of stress, even though the site setup is almost exactly the same as some other classes I've taken (it's in a Moodle website), so it shouldn't cause me to be so nervous, because it's a familiar atmosphere.

While the tests are mostly multiple choice and true/false, it's getting the answers right that's driving me to stress. I don't want to get more than one question wrong on my test, as I need at least an 80% for a passing grade. One question wrong gives me a 93%. That's quite a drop, and frankly scares me a bit. I think when it comes to schooling, I'm a bit of a perfectionist, even though I'm quite the procrastinator.

As well, the reading material is quite dry. I feel like I'm back in 12th grade chemistry class. I know it's important to know what's actually IN plants to determine what they are doing and why, but I didn't think I'd have to be able to pronounce things like "polysaccharides", "lenoleic", "lenolenic", "gamma-lenolenic", etc. I can barely spell those words much less pronounce them (and I pride myself on my word pronunciation). It also doesn't help that many of these words, while having completely DIFFERENT meanings, look the same (like lenoleic and lenolenic written above). I'm just glad I don't have to do a definition test (yet!).

I'm getting closer and closer to the end of my course, and another stressor is building within...how am I going to get my final exam done? I need to find a "proctor" to oversee me doing my test. It's not an easy thing, especially for someone who doesn't like talking to other people (I'm a slight introvert at times). I've had far too many people tell me "no" in my life, that I've become distrustful of many people, when it comes to asking for just about anything.

BUT...I don't need to worry about that for another couple months. I think though, I may have a few ideas in mind when it comes to that time, but for now, I'm going to concentrate on my lessons (and believe me, the next 3 lessons are going to require a LOT of concentration...I'd say they're the equivalent of small books with a lot of technical information).

Just wanted to vent some stress (on a good note, I just finished another test and received 100% on it, so I'm really happy about that). Thanks for allowing me to do so.





Ma’iingan

OT: Diets

Ya, ya, I'm on the subject of diets again. No I'm not doing this whole 30 day weight loss thing again, but I am trying to get back on the wagon I fell off of, with the support and help of my mother.

I've also been reading a lot of blogs lately, so bear with me with many posts...they're where I get many of my subjects lately.

I read a blog post on someone who was venting about diets. Not necessarily for weight loss, but for maintaining health. As I read it, I began thinking:

I think the problem with diets are that they deny the "little things in life". Too many people go on diets, then crash because they can't handle the single leaf of lettuce and scad amounts of water with no flavor on a daily basis. 

I've always been an advocate of saying it's not what you eat, it's how much. Once in a while, it's ok to have that cheeseburger...just don't eat it for every meal, every day; eat that chocolate bar, but once in a while; and for GOD'S SAKE'S...EAT THE DAMNED CAKE!!! You'll never be happy losing weight if you have to deny yourself the little pleasures now and then (and I mean the REAL little pleasures...not these wannabe "90 calorie brownies" and "cookie chips"...I mean REAL pleasures, like an Oh Henry bar, or small baggie of chips).

I know when I was on my diet that denied me everything except chalky "snacks" and "protein shakes"...I almost went batty. My emotions went from energetic highs, to depressive lows that led to tears (and if my readers remember, I shared it all with you with my weight loss blogging). Once off though, I tried to maintain a healthy eating habit, that also included a little treat now and then. Ya, the "healthy" eating went out the window about 3 weeks later (sorry, but I can only handle so much 12 grain this and whole wheat that), but...I'm still maintaining what I lost (even though I have lost my motivation to continue exercising...lack of visual results can do that). Luckily I have supportive family members to encourage me to get back doing what I did before...even if I'm not seeing anything outwardly...exercise is still good for you. 

Good food (not just taste good), exercising and good support (and a treat now and then) are all a person really needs. (*Oh yes...AVOID CALORIE LABELS LIKE THE PLAGUE...they only lead to discouragement. I realized this when I had to maintain 400-600 calorie meals). Just avoid labels altogether. There's really no need for someone to focus and waste their life time trying to calculate how many calories are going to be in their meals. Again, that'll hinder proper eating habits and lead to frustration and disappointment.





Ma’iingan
(***please note, I am not a nutritionist, my opinions are just opinions and are not meant as professional advice***)