Wednesday Perk-Up! (26 July - 1 August)

Good morning, lovelies, and a very happy Hump Day! Celebrate by, well, humping those you love. (Weird? Maybe. Random? Most likely. Awesome? Definitely!)

The brew I’m enjoying this morning is Starbucks DoubleSHOT Energy, white chocolate flavored. You KNOW I had to grab that once I saw it at the convenience store! It’s not as good as their fresh-brewed hot stuff (lol, I said “hot stuff”), but I was in serious need of serious caffeine today. And it doesn’t stop there: I’m meeting up with an awesome friend and talented writer, Sam, for a second serving after work today! Mmm mmm, coffee and friendship. They go together like peanut butter and banana.

… or whatever combination you prefer. Don’t judge!

(If you ever want to be featured in TCC’s Wednesday Perk-Ups, by the way, just shoot me a message! I absolutely love including people in this!)

ETA: DUH BLESSED LUGHNASADH!!!!!!

Lammas Prayer

 We give reverence to Our Lord and Our Lady
On this feast of the first harvest.
We thank you for your patronage,
And for your love.

We offer these These First fruits

Of our fields,
Of our hands,
Of our hearts,
Of our minds,
Of our souls.

And we offer this ancient prayer.

“Grant O Lord and Lady Thy Protection;
And In Thy Protection, Strength;
And In Thy Strength, Understanding;
And In Thy Understanding, Knowledge;
And In Thy Knowledge, Wisdom;
And In Thy Wisdom, Justice;
And In Thy Justice, Peace.”  

Copyright © 1 August 2012 ~ WolfSong All Rights Reserved 

When Witches Go Riding Writing

Short and sweet this week, as many of these are recaps!

Trish Veilleux: Remember When… You Raised Six Girls?

Forgetting one’s life is tragic – something we all hope will never happen to us or a loved one.  But for one woman, my mom, a beloved mother of six, it has happened.

This is a true story and a recounting of some of the ordinary and extraordinary moments that occurred in that very special woman’s life while raising her children – all girls.

My illustrations represent some of the greeting cards created over the years to convey my love for her and my gratitude for all she did.

(Again, a portion of the proceeds will be going to Alzheimer’s research!)

 

Eliora: Enchanting Elegance for your Magickal Life

An absolutely incredible Pagan artisan and very good friend, Eliora has a handcrafted gift to meet your every need! She has everything from besoms to altar accessories to gift sets, and everything in between! Be sure to check out her shop, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.



 

Tori Zigler: Special price on her books, “Mr. Pumpkin-Head and Other Poems” and “Witchlet”!

One more week left!! Throughout the month of July, an excellent wordsmith and good friend Tori Zigler will be selling her books on SmashWords at half price! I personally own her collection of poems and will be taking advantage of her book, and y’all should, too!

To take advantage of this offer, simply go to my author page at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/toriz and add one or both of my books to your cart, then enter the coupon code “SSW50″ at the checkout phase.  Since both books are half price, it’s basically an option for anyone who hasn’t got them yet to buy one of my books and get the other one for free! But this offer is only available throughout July, so don’t wait too long to take advantage of it, or you may miss your chance!

 

Sam Curtin: “Dark Cell” novella on Amazon! FREE for a limited time!!

If you haven’t done so yet, be sure to also check out her Facebook pages for news, discussion, and other fantabulous offerings!

• Samantha Curtin – Author


• Behind the Curtin Publications

 

Seba @ Southern Fried Witch: Unveil My Johnson

Yes, it’s just as funny as it sounds. ;) This entry from a new friend, Seba, attempts to define what a Southern Witch is, and in the process, she weaves an incredibly heartwarming and silly tale about her experiences as a Pagan in the Bible Belt.

And so?  What’s a Southern Witch?  Hmmm.  Well . . .

I am a storyteller, word-giver, respectful, disdainful, oathe-keeping, chicken-frying, baby-birthing, crunchy, spicy, legend-making, tomato-growing, community-building, tattooed righteous bitch.  I can shoot a gun, season an iron skillet, can beans and make love like someone with something to prove.  My disapproval is hard earned and hard lost, as is my approval.  My respect of dogs, front porches and peach cobbler is only rivaled for my adoration of old folks, 1960 somethin’ trucks and church suppers.  I understand our speckled history, find myself in the thick of it often and wouldn’t move north of the Mason Dixon line if you paid me in gold.  My temper is a flash fire, my forgiveness is forever, but my memory is as long as the Tennessee River.

Oh yes… y’all gon’ love her. ;)

 

Food for Thought

Chick-Fil-A-Holes

This week’s Food for Thought features a fast food chain we love to hate… which is fitting, as they apparently love to, too! I’m not even going to rant about this one, as the series of subsequent articles pretty much say it all.

• HuffPo: Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A President, on Anti-Gay Stance: ‘Guilty As Charged’


• Gawker: Chick-Fil-A Has Withdrawn All Jim Henson Toys Nationwide


• What actually happened… NBC News: Muppets company severs ties with Chick-Fil-A over gay marriage stance


• Gizmodo: Did Chick-Fil-A Pretend to Be a Teenage Girl on Facebook? (Updated)


• ONTD_Political: “[Gays] are the most intolerant group of people,” says Mike Huckabee [Editor’s Note: ORLY]


• HuffPo: Chick-Fil-A’s Brand Approval Rating Plummets After Anti-Gay Controversy [Editor’s Note: DAMN STRAIGHT. Erm… you know what I mean.]

No no, wait, I do have one thing to LOL about, and to say, “Seriously, shut the fuck up”: “[Chick-Fil-A] then states that it will “treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender … Our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

 

Born This Way Foundation

In completely opposite and more awesome news!

Led by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, the Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a kinder, braver world.

We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.

 

MORE AWESOME: American Apparel: Legalize Gay

In the fall of 2008, Proposition 8 passed in California, striking down the legalization of same-sex marriage. Since that time, several states across the country have voted to legalize same-sex marriage, or recognize those performed in other states.

With many of our employees and customers identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, we are a company that is vocal about our support for the protection and advancement of gay rights, and we hope that the rest of our fifty states take the necessary steps toward equal rights for all, and legalize same-sex marriage.

Visit legalizegay.com for more information on the initiative.

 

Local Brew

Every Sunday, 1:00pm-5:00pm: Open Hearth Foundation Pagan Book Drive
1502 Massachusetts Ave SE, Washington, DC  20003

Got Books? Got Tarot Decks?

We will be collecting donations of books, periodicals, and tarot decks at the OHF Library in the DC Pagan Community Center.

This event is for you because …

We, Pagans, tend to love our books. However…

Maybe you have a few duplicates…

Maybe you have read a few once and just know you probably won’t get to them again, but others will definitely enjoy them…

Maybe there are some you bought and just know you won’t get to reading them and, really, books should be read…

Maybe you just don’t have any more room and you know you have to make a sacrifice for the greater good…

The OHF Pagan Library is constantly building our collection and you can help! Stop by, bring us your books, check out the library!

The Open Hearth Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible.

 

Friday, 3 August – 7:00pm-9:00pm: Full Circle UUCA: Full Moon Circle
Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, 333 Dubois Road, Annapolis, MD  21401

This event is open to women and teen girls with their moms/adult female. UUCA’s Full Circle program runs full moon circles for women each month at 7 pm on the Friday closest to the Full Moon. More info is available from Susi at sdf.c@comcast.net.

 

Friday, 3 August – 6:30pm-9:00pm: The Family Circle: Family Lammas Ritual & Potluck
Peerman’s House, 17312 Queen Anne Bridge Road, Bowie, MD

Bring a dish to share. If your family has any special food issues (vegetarian, gluten-free, etc), make sure to bring something that you know they can eat. Otherwise, bring what you like, and just make sure you remember what is in it to let others know! :) Also, we will have bread & fruit juice for the ritual -- Let us know & bring alternatives if necessary if there are foods that your children are sensitive to. Weather permitting, the kids can use the big playset in the yard before the ritual, and there are various spaces in the house/deck/yard where kids/adults of various ages can congregate.

 

Sunday, 5 August – 5:00pm-7:00pm: “Manifestation” Mixed Art Exhibit
49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery, 49 West Street, Annapolis, MD  21401

G'day Everyone, I just wanted to extend an invitation to you all and invite you to be a part of my new collection Called "Manifestation". Every piece is one of a kind. It is a visual, mixed media, Intuitive art show, like never before. I will be doing an unforgettable "LIVE" intuitive body painting for all to appreciate.

(I SO wish I could go to this, but we already have plans! If anyone goes, please let me know how much it ROCKED.)

 

18-19 August – 10:00am-8:00pm: KarmaFest 2012
Fair Hill Fairgrounds and Racetrack, 378 Fair Hill Drive, Elkton, MD

KarmaFest is Maryland’s Ultimate Holistic/Psychic/Yoga Festival and we are so happy to be bringing KarmaFest back to Cecil County.  This year the Cecil County KarmaFest will take place at Fair Hill in Elkton.  This is a new venue for KarmaFest, however, we found during last year’s Cecil County festival that Cecil County was excited for the experience and came out in large numbers, thus we outgrew our first venue.

(We’ll most likely be here, by the way. :))

 

Decaffeinated: Blissful News

This Month (August! Already!!) in Holidays

Be sure to check out our NASA Goddard-provided list!

(Thank you to HolidayInsights.com for this list!)

Month:

• Admit You're Happy Month


• Family Fun Month


• National Catfish Month


• National Eye Exam Month


• National Golf Month


• Peach Month


• Romance Awareness Month


• Water Quality Month


• National Picnic Month

Weekly Events:

• Week 1 National Simplify your Life Week


• Week 2 National Smile Week


• Week 3 Friendship Week


• Week 4 Be Kind to Humankind Week

Daily:

1 National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

2 National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

3 National Watermelon Day

4 National Mustard Day first Saturday
4 U.S. Coast Guard Day

5 Friendship Day - First Sunday in August
5 International Forgiveness Day - First Sunday in August
5 Sisters Day - First Sunday in August
5 Work Like a Dog Day

6 Wiggle Your Toes Day

7 National Lighthouse Day

8 Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day - now that's nasty!

9 Book Lover's Day

10 Lazy Day
10 National S'mores Day

11 Presidential Joke Day
11 Son and Daughter Day

12 Middle Child's Day

13 Left Hander's Day

14 National Creamsicle Day

14/15 V-J Day - which date do you mark the end of WWII?

15 Relaxation Day - now this one's for me!

16 National Tell a Joke Day

17 National Thriftshop Day

18 Bad Poetry Day

19 Aviation Day

20 National Radio Day

21 Senior Citizen's Day

22 Be an Angel Day
22 National Tooth Fairy Day - and/or February 28

23 Chinese Valentine's Day/Daughter's Day - 7th day of 7th Lunar Month
23 Ride the Wind Day

24 Vesuvius Day

25 Kiss and Make Up Day

26 National Dog Day
26 Women's Equality Day

27 Global Forgiveness Day
27 Just Because Day

28 Race Your Mouse Day -but we are not sure what kind of "mouse"

29 More Herbs, Less Salt Day

30 Frankenstein Day
30 Toasted Marshmallow Day

31 National Trail Mix Day

Espresso Shots: News with a Kick!

LOL-worthy: QWOP

Seriously, what is this.

You are Qwop, our small nation’s sole representative at the Olympic Games.

• Use the QWOP keys to move your legs.


• Ideally, you will run 100 metres…


• … but our training program was under-funded.


• Remember, it’s not about whether you win or lose.

Craftster: Melted Bead Suncatcher

Posting this again, as I LOVE IT. :)

You’ll need:

• a bag of cheap plastic beads, in whatever colors you want


• metal baking pans or ceramic dishes, in whatever sizes and shapes you want


• an oven (duh)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lay down a single layer of beads in the pan or dish and shove it in the oven for 20 minutes or until hardened — keep checking so they don’t burn.

After the beads cool, flip over the pan and gently coax your creation out. Drill a hole through the top, string some fishing line, and hang ‘em!

I’m thinking this would be a fun project for kids, too!