DIY Organization Projects #4 Results and #5: Wall Letter Trays

Organization Project #4 (OP4)

Organization Project #4 is finished and assembled, but I haven't figured out how I want to, or if I want to, glue it down to a peice of cardboard for further stability. Update on this later.

Organization Project #5 (OP5)

Since I do some supplemental homeschooling, I need some place that each child can have their stash of supplies. The biggest item being dry-erase place mats that they practice their handwriting on. Cursive for the older girl, print for the younger boy with terrible handwriting. These mats are quite large; 12" x 15".

The Search

During a search for magazine racks, I came across this fabulous quick and easy bathroom magazine rack at Living Off Love and Coffee. Quick and easy and can hang on the wall. But not quite our style. Size is also a factor. I would have to search high and low for a basket large enough and hope I can find two.

DIY Magazine Rack (Click link for exact page.)

I remembered seeing the wire mesh letter trays at Walmart. They stack together if you need more than one, but I wasn't sure if the mesh was big enough to put string through. Something like this, but without the multiple sections.

Walmart.com

I also found this cute one in pink by Aurora.

Just one problem. It's pink! The boy isn't going to like pink!

I loved the simplicity and it looked like I could make it myself. There are endless possibilities for the covering with what was available in my home.

The Design

This had possibilities since I could make it any size I needed. To the Drawing Board! (I apologize for the horrible pictures. The only camera I have is on my phone.)

Blueprint

I sketched out the design. Hash lines designate equal values. Then I just measured the placemat and determined what lengths I needed. For mine I made it 12" wide with a 2" depth. The back section is 15" tall, while the front is 4". Due to the corrugated cardboard I used, the dimensions are slightly bigger. The holes and lines across are for the string to hold items in place.

The Process

Since I work in retail I can get boxes of whatever size I need provided I get them before the compactor or recycling bins claim them. I had a big box that had held a large ottoman. Measured and cut out the right size and then measured off my lines. I drew them in pencil, but then went over them in Sharpie so they can be seen in the picture. My little boy helper holding it up for me:

I also wrote in pencil over the lines which
were cut lines and which were fold.

The angled lines were not necessary, but I thought about how often 90 degree corners get dog eared around here, so I just eliminated them. The ones at the bottom turned out to be not necessary and more of a hassle than anything.

Since I used corrugated cardboard, folding was going to be difficult on cross-grain lines. The grain on these is going across the width not height. Using a box cutter, I used several passes on the CUT lines to go all the way through. On the fold lines, cut the top layer and the corrugated layer, but not the bottom layer.

Don't worry about your marks as they will be covered with the material of your choice.

"Eye" See You!

At this point, I stopped and cut out my second one. Now that I knew the how-to's, it went much quicker and smoother.

I folded one up to verify that it would fit.

Now for the covering. I found some fabric in my stash that was just enough to cover every surface on both boxes but the back. Since I will be hanging them on the wall just outside their bedrooms, this is perfect. Using Elmer's Spray Adhesive in a well ventilated area, I trimmed and cut and applied. 

Now comes the tricky parts. Which parts do I cut away so I don't have massive amounts of extra fabric?

 To glue down the front of the bottom, I had to switch to Fabric Stitch as an adhesive. Elmer's just wasn't cutting it. You also have to start putting it together at this point. Because the Elmer's wasn't holding it together, I added a paper fastener under the last layer of fabric. Poked it right through and bent it on the inside of the pocket.

End Result of the front bottom glue down.

String Time! I used a hole punch and brute strength to punch in the holes. Using a spare set of shoelaces from a shoe I bought, I strung it through, tied the ends (not too tight!), and Walla!

The Final Result
Need I say any more than this picture? The place mat is quite snug as I forgot to allow for the laminated edge, but it's quite better than it flopping around in there. It also slows down the ADD kids when putting supplies away. Each child also has a folder for passwords, accounts, book lists, etc. I can also deliver mail since both have adult pen pals like former teachers and relatives who moved away.

Each child has a dry erase board right outside their bedroom door with the days of the week, what their chores & priorities are, doctor's appointments for the week, library book due dates, etc. The older girl also has two spots labelled "This Month" and "Next Month". All their information in one place. If something is going on at school like a try-out, she adds it to her board. If we make them doctor's appointments, they know to look at the board first. I also have a family calendar hanging near these boards as a master copy should parts of their boards get erased accidentally.

These bins will go right underneath the boards. The younger boy has a dry erase marker clip attached to his board. Since the older girl does not have this, I'm taking an old pair of jeans that do not fit the younger boy and using the back pockets as a front pocket on the bins. You can put the children's names on them, embellish them anyway you like. I made the front of the bin quite large for this purpose.

Attaching these to the wall is the next step, but I leave it up to you how best to attach it to your wall.

Enjoy!
~Her Royal Pinkness, Elizabeth I

TV Shootie Style

Preface

For the past month or so, I have been working nearly exclusively in my company's shoe department. My co-workers think I'm crazy, but that's ok. I'm used to people thinking I'm crazy. lol

Until the first week of my transition into the Shoe Department Expert was complete, I had completely forgotten about my childhood dream of working for Fred Toenges Shoe Store here in Fort Wayne. For anyone not local or have never visited the Fort, Fred Toenges is a shoe store like none other here. Not only do you find fantastic fashionable shoes for the whole family, but they work with those with special footwear needs. At Fred Toenges, you are bound to find a good quality shoe that is going to last and be good for your overall health and well-lived lifestyle. This is where I formed my passion for shoes.

That being said, I take a different approach to the shoe department than many of my predecessors. In their defense of course is the fact that they were required to deal with another department as well as the shoe area. There's only so much attention a Department Lead can contribute to Shoes when you have to take care of the Mens or Kids department as well. As for me, I am "Shoes", not "& Shoes". I can take the time to get to know the shoes we carry, the pros and cons of each piece of footwear, the clientele, and the health benefits or problems with each pair.

TV Junkie

One of my favorite shows to watch is Elementary starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu, chronicling a modern day Sherlock Holmes and a female Dr. Watson as though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had not written them into the early 1900s of our world. The phrase "No S***, Sherlock" has therefore not been invented. On Facebook, I have stated my love for all things Sherlockian, so I will not go into that here again. Besides, this blog entry is about SHOES.

Lucy Liu has always been a fashion icon. She is simply gorgeous in every stitch of clothing she dons. It could be an outfit the rest of us would look like crap in, but she... well, she'd make sackcloth look good! This past spring, I noticed Lucy's footwear. I thought it odd, but fantastically sexy and cute all at the same time. Lucy is only 5'3" (I am 5'1.75" so understand the plight of the vertically challenged) next to Jonny's 5'11". Heeled boots and shoes are a must.

(Please Note: if I have snagged your image from Google Search, have not placed a link back to you and you would like me to include one, feel free to drop me a line. I do not remember all the sites I snagged these from but have done my best to recreate the memories.)

Footwear Makeover

Once I entered the world of shoes... I finally had a name for Lucy's fantastic footwear: Shooties! They are typically a dress-heeled shoe that resembles a boot until the ankle. Some extend slightly past the ankle with a chunky boot heel. These are called Booties. Lucy wears them both with aplomb.

from TheBrunetteOne.com

1. Wedge Sneakers

Not a Bootie or a Shootie, but still a fantastic new style this year. There are cheap knock offs everywhere, but for long lasting style and durability as well as wondrous comfort, I recommend buying a designer or name brand shoe. Madden Girl, Mia, Wanted, Roxy, Puma, Adidas, and even Converse have some fantastic looking styles of Wedge Sneakers.

from DSW.com

I personally own this exact shoe in black and love them to bits! I even wore them for an 8 hour retail shift and by the end of the day, my calves were a bit "worked out" but my feet felt fantastic. (Keep in mind that I got them on clearance with an employee discount so I didn't have to pay the $40 price tag.)

2. Booties

Sometimes we just cannot figure out where to put the pant leg, i.e.: in or out of the boot? Or when wearing a pair of tights, will it look right with the calf covered with a boot? And really, who has time to lace up or struggle into a pair of traditional knee high boots? Enter Booties.

from DSW.com

Option #2 is a standard street level sole like this Madden Girl slip on bootie. I have tried this one on and must say that I cannot decide which to get, black or cognac. Both colors are fantastic. One I could wear with half my closet while the other color would get the other half. This is not the style of shoe though that I would wear at my work, so it's still a dream of "Mama Wants" and not a loving member of my shoe family yet. This bootie can function any night on the town, all day at a family get together, spring, summer, fall, or winter. Working on your feet all day in these is not recommended.

3. Shooties

from DSW.com

Option #3 is a platform level sole like any of the Unlisted by Kenneth Cole line. Again, not a shoe I would wear to work in all day, but a cute & sexy out-on-the-town shoe.

image from DSW.com

4. Booties (Again!)

Option #4 is a more traditional boot look, but with the ankle length for us on the go moms and professionals. Again, have tried this one on and cannot decide between the black and tan that my store carries. Also not a working shoe.

The following images are more of Lucy wearing Shooties and Booties, gleaned from Google Search.

from TheBrunetteOne.com

Even guest star Natalie Dormer (as Irene Adler/Moriarty) rocks some lovely Booties!

So all in all, the newest trend of the season in stores, television, and the World Wide Web is Shooties & Booties. Any season of the year, Booties and Shooties should be a staple in your wardrobe. But hurry fast to your local shoe department or shoe store! This is the only time of year to find a fantastic selection.

~Her Royal Pinkness, Elizabeth I

Freddie the Whimsical Night Watchman

My wonderful husband has two odd obsessions. One started some time between when we were young lovers and when we reconnected as adults. He likes Santa Claus's. So every Christmas I buy him another "Ho-Ho".

After the kids got us to watch Gnomeo & Juliet, his new obsession in Gnomes. Last year his sister and I both bought him a gnome for his birthday, June 24th.. This year I abstained from purchasing a gnome because 1.) I didn't like any of the gnomes that came in at my work and 2.) instead of buying him a gnome, I married him the next day.

Our three pink bunnies have barely survived my husband and have been patched up several times now. So, since my arrival to our home, all wind chimes and ceramic/cement lawn decorations come indoors for the winter. They are washed off, wrapped carefully and put into boxes in the attic. This year, I noticed that the gnome with the lantern from my sister-in-law was a little faded.

Before

After a year outside, this little guy needed a makeover. So I asked my step-daughter to repaint his hat. It turned into a complete makeover from head to toe.

After

With a makeover and since he's not the only gnome in the yard, he needed a name. Found Chimpage: Gnome Name Generator, and now his name is Freddie the Whimsical Night Watchman.

Another look at a side by side Before & After Pic: 

We need more things to paint!

DIY Organization Projects #1, #2, #3, and Plans for #4

Preface

A Little Background

I have an office supply fetish. Understatement of the year, I know. However, with a family of 4.5+3 (4 full-time, 1 part-time, 3 pets) to support, I cannot just go out and buy more organization supplies, or the best bulletin board ever, etc. What is most sad about having spent years and hundreds on trying to get organized, is that nothing ever sticks or works long or is not quite what I needed.

Crafty Girl

Now I have a stepdaughter who is always wanting to craft things, but she's a bit scatterbrained and ADD to boot. She is in such a rush to get projects done because her mind is already shooting towards the next project. She also tends to give up on projects when they start to bore her, which is unfortunately very early in the project, about 80% of the time. In her defense, she does come up with some great ideas and it is not her fault that she does not have the knowledge base for ideas on how to implement those great ideas.

Unfinished

We also have a problem in our house of not completing projects because we run out of supplies, or had the wrong supply, or we got busy and haven't gotten back "A Round To-it". For example, not entirely our fault since we rent and are only allowed so much leeway and some things must be taken care of by a landlord, we started to repaint and fix some problem areas in our bathroom. It became clear that we needed to strip all the paint from the ceiling and mud/reapply paint. Three and a half years later, the ceiling is only half mudded.

Therefore, I am not saying my stepdaughter is the exception to the household rule; she's just a very good example of the norm.

My Little Hoarder

My ADHD son is not so crafty, but he's a hoarder. After having lost so much during moves early in life, he feels like he must hold onto every scrap of paper, drawing, broken toy he's ever owned. I have attempted to throw away toys and he used to bawl his little eyes out. I attempted to throw them out when he wasn't looking and he found them in the trash. I attempted to be sneaky by taking the broken toy straight to the dumpster when he was asleep and in less than a week he was of course asking for that exact toy. My dilemma is that I cannot lie to my kids. So when I told him it was thrown out for being broken, he insisted it could have been fixed.

I'm such a horrible mom, right?

In any event, with craft supplies and toys and books and clothes and shoes and a very tiny house, I've had to get creative with organization though the place still looks like a pigsty half the time.

The Main Event

Organization Project #1

This past spring, Stepdaughter and I worked on a project for storing office utensils above the monitor of my new computer desk. A Clearanced wine rack, empty tin food cans, and a little bit of leftover hand-me-down paint and we're in business.

Rainbow Cans

1. Paint cleaned cans in desired colors. Make sure you trim or file down any rough edges on the inside.

Rainbow Images

2. Design and paint clip-art style images on the cans as desired. Make kids part of the project, especially if it is for their rooms.

In Wine Rack

3. Added cans to a cheap clearanced wine rack at Gordmans. We do not drink wine or alcohol of any kind, but they have so many options for wine bottle organization that you just can't help but use it for other organizational needs.

On Wall

4. Hang on wall. Make sure you have enough clearance for your items to be removed like that ruler on the far left. The edge of the above cabinet is directly above so I must tilt the ruler away from me to get it out of the can. Any lower on the wall and the rack would have been hidden by the monitor completely.

My desk has no pencil drawer, and the old area we kept our pens and pencils is all the way across the room. Not effective use of movement. This was the cute and fun solution.

Organization Project #2

Kitchen Color Scheme

I needed to figure out how to reorganize our kitchen. It is very long and narrow and we need to be able to eat in it because ADD and ADHD kids with an ADD mom watching TV while trying to eat? Not a good idea. Food gets shoveled in mouths without much thought to what the food is or tastes like. (Plus I was getting quite tired of cleaning crumbs off my couch.)

The way we had it set up until this past weekend had us all crossing paths trying to do things at cross-purposes. Hot pads were in the drawer furthest away from the stove. Mixing bowls, casserole dishes, measuring spoons and cups were in a rolling kitchen cart on the other side of the room behind the table. You get the drift.

I found some wire baskets with front card slots at Gordmans that weren't too badly priced. Not the exact hues, but there is red, yellow, and blue. We have three sizes of rags and have them separated for the kids so they can grab a job appropriate sized rag.

I traced one of my husband's business cards onto a piece of white card stock 3 times. Then construction paper in the same colors as the baskets and made them a little smaller. The card stock and the construction paper were old craft supplies of my grandmother's and rather old. They look aged like the wire baskets.

End Result

Organization Project #3

So our bathroom is really tiny. I have done everything I can to maximize space. I'm not done with it, but it looks far better than it did when it was just a place to clean up. Now I can take a soak in the tub in a peaceful environment. Until kids knock on the door every five minutes of course.

Shelves are a must have when you have those 4.5+3 individuals' belongings in such a tiny space. To the Right is the tub/shower combo and it takes up the whole depth of the room.

This picture is taken from the doorway. Behind the door is a short tower shelving unit, also in white with spare towels, hand towels and washcloths.

If you can see in the mirror, under the window are a collection of coat hooks holding the towels for myself and all three kids and to the side of the sink, the hand towel.

More needs done with this space, but we're getting closer to organized.

For example, the Q-Tips and cotton balls and other flotsam took up room in individual containers and were always getting knocked on the floor. I'm pretty sure that half the Q-Tips I bought in the past 4 years were never used because of this. But I wouldn't let anyone put them back in the container after they fell behind the toilet. No brainer.

These little baskets were again found at Gordmans on 50% off clearance, so essential B1G1F. Cut some card stock to compliment the room's colors so the Q-Tips don't come out through the wire. Looks fantastic.

This beautiful lady has nothing to do with organization, but she suits the room and the theme I'm trying to go for so I had to brag about her.

The two cabinets on either side of her are hardly ever used because the doors are opaque. Many places in our home are an 'out of sight, out of mind' kind of place. This means that for the kids and my husband, items and tools they need to get ready in the morning must be right in their face or they forget to use them.

This includes everything from floss (which they still forget anyway), brushing their teeth, cleaning out their ears, and the list goes on. This area is a big RE-DO on my To-Do- List.

Organization Project #4

Back to the computer desk. It is a cute and quaint little desk. Two file drawers, one for business, the other for home. Pull out keyboard tray works great for keeping keyboard and mouse out of the way when I need to write. It is however problematic to write on a desk that has papers just thrown or piled on every flat service.

Since there are plenty of DIY sites, Pinterest posts, and HGN episodes on how to make a magazine file holder out of cardboard, cereal boxes, diaper boxes, etc. I won't bore with the details. Next DIY post will start with the end result photo and another round of Organization Projects.

Ciao! ~^..^~

Gaming - Need Friends/Neighbors/Allies

I play a lot of little games on Facebook and most of my friends shun it.

     I don't care.

It is stress relief. It keeps my brain from going a million miles an hour down a circular drain that leaves me feeling crazy.

Unfortunately since very few friends play the same games I do, I get frustrated because I am stopped at every corner and cannot progress as fast or as easily as I would like.

That being said, I play Disney's Ghosts of Mistwood and since there are so few who play it, I moved over to Playdom who made the game. Too bad for me, I have to start all over at level 1. So...

If you play this game on Facebook or on Playdom, feel free to add me. For Facebook please send a message to me stating that it is for Ghosts of Mistwood.

I also play Disney City Girl, Farmville 2 (and on Zynga), Candy Crush, and Hidden Shadows.

I'm a gamer. We collect games obsessively. Deal with it.

Tragedy in the Ward

I have four best friends in my adulthood besides my new husband. I am a terrible best friend in that way of not finding enough time in my life to spend time with them. They understand but still.
So about a month ago, the eldest of my four best friends had a medical emergency that slipped him into such a state that doctors decided to medically induce a coma. Within a week, his and my beautiful half-Australian Cattledog Bruno passed away at 14 years old.
That same week, the youngest of my four best friends who happens to be pregnant with a miracle surprise baby found out that her oldest sister passed away from complications of a gastric bypass surgery. Then her poor step-daughter who has struggled for so long with a whacked out mother and who has come so far in her rebound of that situation had to be hospitalized in a psychiatric facility.
So the two middle best friends had better not get in touch with me and tell me they have had terrible life setbacks that I failed to pick up on that week. Cause that'll mean I'm next...
The good news is of course that he's recovered from the coma and in rehab and the step-daughter is home and recovering in the loving environment of her dad and stepmom.
Oh wait... does the government "shutdown" and the "healthcare" requirement count has tragedies?

Reflection

Re-reading the prior posts, I am horribly dismayed by my lack of consistency.
But I do remember quite a bit of my life based on the descriptions I wrote. I am still thankful for the man who I spent all those years on and broke my heart anyway. (Funny how last week I wrote a vague rant on Facebook about him getting back together with a real doozy of a psycho ex. And the dingle-dork hit the "Like" button on it. Ha! Whoever said men were intelligent... I'll leave that one alone.)
In any event, I'm thankful for the feelings he invoked in me for the sheer fact that it made me realize I was worthy of love.
I married my son's father and then divorced him. I love life too much to die at the hands of someone who professes to love me between blows to the head. In the process, I became an alcoholic. Now I know I sound detached from it, but at this point I'm nearly four years past the event and I've managed to reduce it down to the bare facts. There was a lot of pain and a lot of soul searching. Still have problems holding it together when he wants to act all chummy, but c'est la vie.
It took a lot of love and acceptance from a long ago lover who rescued me to get me to this point. We finally married this past June.
So while I'm working on my third marriage, I've gotten to see my middle child once and come to the despairing realization that she has no use for me, nor any desire to know me. The same will probably be true of my eldest child as well. While I was desperately trying to get my act together, they were desperately needing me and I wasn't there. I cannot change those facts. I can only live with the consequences.
Also while I was gone from Blogger, I returned to church and re-acquainted myself with God and my love for His son, Jesus Christ. Thus, I am a new woman because He makes me new.
But I will not be deleting the past posts talking about paganism or my exes. The past is the past and unchangeable. I did go through my computer files and delete the pictures and letters never sent. I deleted some of the logged conversations. I won't be rereading them. The private conversations between lovers do not need aired, therefore are of no use in even my blogs.
But the men are not deleted from my life as my first husband deleted me from his friend list. Would make it easier to keep in contact for our daughter, but as I said before, she has no use for me (in her way of thinking) so he has no point in keeping me on his friend list I guess.
My other exes though are there, though I do not talk to them if I can help it. My son's father tries to play nicey-nice. But really dude. You tried to kill me. Only reason you have access to my page and my pictures is because most of them are of our son and I don't feel like paying my lawyer $200 an hour to go back to court and deal with your whiny butt about money or lack of access to my son.
I got side-tracked... where was I? Aha. The Paganism. I still stand by my Narrow Path analogies. And I still stand by my belief that personal spirituality and faith and enlightenment are singularly and personally exclusive. I just now happen to believe that the only true way is through Christ. I do refuse to be preachy though. I went that route in high school and cost myself friends. He calls us to be available, not discriminatory or exclusive.
So the short and skinny at this point is that I am happy and healthy, both physically and mentally.
I am married and a mom/stepmom in all senses of the job titles. I am about to celebrate 3 years at the same company after the last one canned me at 3 and a half years. I love shoes and my job entails dealing with many aspects of the selling and stocking of shoes. A dangerous job for someone with a shoe fetish, but I stare temptation in the face every day and only rarely lose control. (There's currently a pair of boots that are tempting me something awful, but the $75 price tag is helping keep them out of my closet.) I have a home and a family.
That's good for now. All I need. Really.

And... She's Back.

Not that anyone I know actually reads this. And anyone I know now doesn't even know this place even exists for me. Maybe that's a good thing. There's a need within to write and not have it picked apart for hidden meaning or underlying tones. I just need to blog.
I can't keep a journal going. I buy them with intent to write religiously, but I never start. Or I write once and it goes in the back of a drawer. As a kid I wrote almost every day in a lavender journal my mom got me. Then one day I just stopped. Then my freshman year I wrote in a five subject notebook every day. Then about the middle of second quarter, I just stopped. I have both still to this day and sometimes am quite appalled at preteen and teen me. Other times, I'm floored by her insights and can't believe I forgot writing them.
For example, freshman year I wrote that I couldn't freaking stand this boy in my class. 8 years later I married him. I shouldn't have. I should have dug out that journal and read what I had wrote. Would have saved me some heartache and our daughter some pain.
Even here! I said, "Stay tuned!" And then gave nothing to stay tuned in for. Such a shameful writer I am.
So maybe every now and again I ought to just vent here. And write like I was meant to write. Lord knows, if I do that on Facebook I get people who mean well jumping down my throat.
So with that... Her Royal Pinkness, Queen Elizabeth I is back.

Chicago Bears - Preseason Week 3

It is with utter joy and ecstatic jubilation I bring my Rex Grossman bitching to a temporary close. As my LiveJournal readers are aware, when it comes to the Bears, I have but two complaints. One, is Rex Grossman. The second, that the coach refused to take him out of the starting position in the 2006-07 season. He blundered. And kept blundering. Tsk Tsk.

The way it looked to my unseasoned eye during the '06 season, the QB just couldn't rally the offense to his lead.

Without knowing anything about the '07 season, it's not surprising to find out that he was demoted to No. 2 last September.

And now... Lo and behold, Grossman lost out on starting QB position to Kyle Orton. Now I know nothing about Orton, but I'm not like the majority of voters out there. I'm not going to just stick with what we got just cause I know how he's going to screw the American public. I'll go with the new guy who wants to change things. I'm not much of a status quo girl unless it's friggin' working.

Plus, seeing how I predicted early in the '96 season who would go all the way to the Super Bowl to win, as well as saying, "If Coach leaves Rex as starting QB, they will lose." for the 2007 SuperBowl... Hm... Methinks I might be psychic after all.

So the Bears, Chicago, and Soldier field welcome the San Fransisco 49ers tonight (game on FOX at 8:00 pm, yes, I'm late tuning in), we'll see how Orton handles for the first 3 quarters with the rest of the first string.

~Later!

Bay Boys and More - Preseason Week 3

Football??? Yes, American Football. A small little hidden passion that people from LiveJournal and Y!360 may already know a little about.

Let's start with the Elizabeth-American Football relationship history, shall we?

In my early years, my Mom (Marguerite) tried to instill in me nothing but the "finer things" in life. Music (of the classical variety), arts (of the black dress affair type), learning (higher education a must), and the written word. A little of what she taught exists still.

My Dad (Wayne) on the other hand, was about the land, fun with responsibility, and sports. Indiana University, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs fan until the day he dies, I'm sure.

In 1996, my very own steer (Dairy Farmers, remember), Thomas "Tommy" Walter, was sold at auction to Packerland Packing of GreenBay (now a part of Smithfield Beef Group), a supplier of fine beef to 4 and 5 star restaurants in the upper mid-west United States. I received the most money for a steer our farm had ever seen. I was proud.

That's when I noticed the Green Bay Packers. I watched with awe the players determination and fierce desire for a win. And win they did! I told Dad and Jarrod (my younger brother) that the Packers were going to win the Super Bowl. They didn't believe me. And yes, the little girl who knew nothing about football was right.

To this day, I really know next to nothing about football: the stats, the averages, the probabilities, etc. These things mean next to nothing to me.

Watching my teams win? That is everything.

SuperBowl 2007 was impressive to me. Not the game itself since I was at work and couldn't get the day off to watch... But the fact that TWO of my teams were in it was enough to make me estatic. I didn't care who won or lost. I was still going to win.

But between 1996 and 2006, I was out of the football scene. I knew next to nothing except that Monday Night Football at Hooters got me the best service any woman could get there. (I was pregnant with Samantha and attended with my male roommates every week religiously. I even gave birth to Sami on Monday Night Football night and missed it. I missed "The Monday Night Miracle" all because I was having a little Monday Night Miracle of my own.)

And then came Niko... A Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan whose love for Tampa rivaled my Dad's love for Chicago changed everything. Niko reminded me a lot of Dad when it came to football, patiently explaining to me the ins and outs of the game. Finally a woman, with a little more math and spectatorship under my belt, I was beginning to understand. Niko played a Yahoo Fantasy football game with his coworkers and through it was slowly explaining what was what. I was hooked. (Speaking of which, Vinny "the Traitor" Testeverde, who started his career with Tampa Bay, threw 4 touchdown passes with the Jets in the fourth quarter alone on that missed game October 23, 2000. Three went to players who had never made a touchdown in their time in the NFL.)

So now you get the drift. I went from an excited little kid watching football with her dad and brother, to a teenage girl who had no use for such things, to an avid watcher and closet football geek in her adult years.

I don't get all the time in the world to watch my football and trust me, trying to find the time to watch my games let alone wrest the TV away from someone else's control long enough to watch my games is near to impossible. But I shall do my best this year to follow my teams, my guys, my second favorite sport.

Next up: Break-down expectations of Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

STAY TUNED!

Creative Strikes Again!

Creative Zen Mozaic

A couple weeks ago I mentioned the Creative Zen and it's latest version, the X-Fi.

Today, I'm not impressed with the next Zen creation.

The Mosaic is a glorified palm computer without the ability to download or edit. Perhaps I'm not all about having photos to carry around with me. I have three children and I don't carry a single foto of them with me out and about. I love my pets and my family. They aren't carried with me every day either. I have them in my head and my heart. I don't need digital fotos to carry with me 24/7.

I don't have a need for photo and video storage that can play music and the radio too. Please, I work for a living. The only times I have need of my music player is if I'm working out, driving around town (using an old tape-cd adapter to use my car speakers), or doing any kind of housework when I want to block out the world and focus.

Pics and vids I do not need.

The Creative Zen Mosaic (and consequently, the video/photo parts of the X-Fi for that matter) are geared towards the student and the traveller, so they may take a little bit of home with them every where. Also for the commuters who do not drive themselves. How else could you block out and while away the time on the "L" or the subway? Reading a book would take too much attention and thought!

What the X-Fi has over the Mosaic: Quality. The focus of this product is on the music, the higher quality, bringing your mp3's back up to the quality the artist intended on CDs. While I cannot condone the massive downloading of mp3's for distribution or simply because you're a cheap skate, occasionally it is hard to find a specific song. Or you want to know if you're going to like the album, so download the music and take a listen, buying the cd later. What's the harm, right?

That's another blog for another day, since I myself have downloaded mp3's and ripped from my cds and shared them on P2P programs. But I digress...

Once you've got the cd, it seems rather ridiculous to carry this book of cds around with you. That's the point of the mp3 player after all. But we all know cd-ripping technology is not designed for the consumer. The X-Fi reportedly fixes the scratchy and deadened sound of your legitimately ripped mp3's.

Did I mention it also has Wireless LAN built it???

But what does the Mosaic have over the X-Fi? How about the pics and vids? A lot of people want all of it. Not every one is so focused on the quality of the music they are listening to (and I'm not referring to talent or genre, simply sound quality.)

The Mosaic is CHEAP! Starting at $59.99 compared to the X-Fi $199.99, it's quite possibly a steal. My current MP3 player, the original Creative Zen, was just over $70 (included tax) and was exactly what I needed for work.

Parents could really get behind this latest player. For after school-to after work delays, for quiet rides with little to no fighting... $60 bucks a kid makes it worth it.

There's my electronic thought of the week.
Later,
~E.

This is Why I love Creative

The company, Creative, who has been making my computer sound cards for years (if a computer I pick up doesn't have a Creative sound card, it gets one and the other one gets tossed.) has come out with their next generation of MP3 player...

And damn, it's a beaut.

Here's why I love Creative products. They last. They have quality. And if something goes wrong right the fuck away? They, they take care of you.

I learned this a long long time ago, before I left "home" in fact. That's neither here nor there. I know what I want Santa to bring me for Christmas/Yule!

I have a 1GB mp3 player/portable radio/personal music player. It's great. Until vacation this year, I never realized I could actually fill it. Of course... The battery dies before I get through all 1 gig, but heh, sometimes you are in the mood for a certain kind of music. Other times you want something else...

Finally having 1 gig of music that I like listening to on a regular basis, I have found the need for more.

I have a Creative Zen. I bought it when I was a hotel housekeeper. I needed something in my ears rather than changing stations on the alarm clocks and trying to remember to turn them off again before I left. Screw that. In my ears baby. The Zen was perfect. Came with an armband, perfect for jogging, biking, whatever...

The NEW Zen X-Fi... now this baby is the suweetest lookin' thing. I want one. And ya'll know I've never been one to want the next greatest thing. Hell, I only upgraded to Windows XP 1 year ago! HA!

The Creative Zen X-Fi. People! Seriously. This thing would give me a hard-on if I were a dude.

Creative Zen X-Fi Product Page (*New Window Link)

Check ya later!

Her Royal Pinkness Elizabeth I

Been a year. I've been busy. Working.

When I created this blog, I was new to journaling online. I'd done a bit on bolt.com, a teen site, in 1999. But it just didn't satisfy me. I was getting out of my teen years, and my tastes had never run the route of the teen gambit anyways.

After doing a few things here at Blogger.com, I found LiveJournal.com and went a bit hog-wild. Then a few friends got on Yahoo! 360 so I did quite a bit there. Then I headed over to MySpace because enough of my friends had bugged me long enough, I went there just to shut them up. lol

Now I'm not as active as I once was there either. This past year has been one of finding out my physical limits and finding myself confined to a certain amount of exertion. Fibromyalgia... Remind me to Rant about that whole bullarky at a later time.

Relationship upheavals, family upheavals, and work kicking my ass. Essentially I had plenty to Rant and Rave about, but little to no time to actually blog about it. I believe it's time for that to change.

I've got some spiritual-Roman Catholic-Vatican stuff to write, something about Britney, and now young Jamie Lynn. I'm working on some corporate America stuff that's been pissing me off. And don't get me started on Welfare. Hell, while we're at it, I got a lot to say about the government of Indiana, state and local.

And how about life in these 3 Rivers? You better believe I've got things to say based on what I've seen and heard and what I do my best to keep out of but rarely succeed. The incompetency of the county jail employees, the ridiculousness of charges, the inability to enforce child support payment. (Let's face it. If Sean was paying, I'd finally get my head above water, wouldn't be so stressed, and eventually would be able to just take the check I get from him and turn around, send it to Samantha and Clara. But as it stands, the loathsome bastard is going to sit in jail for 30 days come our March hearing unless he pays 7 months worth of child support by the hearing. Fat chance of that!)

I digress. See? I have a lot to write about.

After three years of the same Ms. Moto layout, I went in search of something else. New layout, new name, new URL. I stand by my first post, about why Elizabeth would have a Pink blog when she hates the color pink. When people who know me think of me, they certainly don't think pink. But I'll tell you this much. Since that time, I have accumulated pink underwear, a pink watch, pink jewelry, a pink Indiana T, a pink Purdue T, a pinkish purple blouse, hot pink trimmed tennis shoes, pink lipsticks and eye shadows, etcetera etcetera etcetera. I've done some sites in pink even. I've changed my mind. Pink is most definitely the new black.

For the past year and a half, I've been going by my given name of Elizabeth and since so many cannot remember what my last name is... (my fault for letting it change so much) most place just have me listed as Elizabeth mK. I am the Queen of several realms and I don't care for accolades or praise. I don't care if people love or loathe me. I just care that you notice. That you hear. That you listen.

Her Royal Pinkness decrees that Pink should not be looked down upon or reserved for queers and the Hollywood Princesses. Her Royal Pinkness decrees that the world needs to listen up. Her Royal Pinkness finally has something to say and is dedicated to bring that something to the web. You all, my beautiful people... You'll find your way here. I know and trust that you will. The Most Reverend Father will see to that.

Come on over and chat. If you wanna talk about something, do it here. There will be lots to say.

With that my lovelies, I shall say adieu. Adieu, adieu.. Until we meet again.

~Her Royal Pinkness Elizabeth I

Faith in Humanity

Faith is a pretty tricky thing. Seriously. How do you expect someone to believe in something you believe in when his or her faith and level thereof are different than yours? Faith is the belief in that which cannot be proven. It is why faith is so easily shaken these days. People are constantly in need of proof. We have been let down so often, our faith in humanity shattered. Our trust in people is constantly broken and laid to waste before us.

So it becomes hard for so many to open themselves back up to trust and faith and the belief in the unseen. How can we recover? By letting go of our sense of self and slowly redefining it. Since our trust and faith have been broken, perhaps what we knew to begin with was not truth?

I was told for years that my birthmother was a 17-year old slut addicted to crack cocaine. To further accentuate that I came from worthless stock, I was told that my birthfather was rotting in jail for murdering his marijuana supplier during a deal gone bad. The older I got, the more I learned about these two specific drugs and the more my mind reeled. If my mother had been addicted to crack during my pregnancy and my subsequent birth, I surely would have suffered health problems. I do not suffer those particular medical setbacks. And what pothead do you know kills their dealer when the dealer asks too much? Not highly likely. They'd just go get it somewhere else or pay the inflated price.

My perception changed. It had to change. Facts were laid out in front of me in such a way that I could not argue. I could not hold fast to what I had known. What I had known was a lie and not based in any kind of fact. To keep me under her thumb, my adoptive mother told me the most horrid things she could to try and keep me "in line". She attempted to control me and for several years she succeeded.

In my adult life, I refused to be controlled. If I did something for someone, I was first required to be willing to do it. I still refuse to be controlled and it is causing me a great deal of pain. I had faith and trust that my life, that this attempt at relearning how to love would be different than the prior. I knew that my faith had to be restored in humanity and mankind, especially men.

And as difficult as it was, I realigned my views on people. I succeeded. I trusted someone and was a better person for it. I..m still a better person for it, for I have not yet sunk into the bitterness that used to come from a failed relationship where I was wronged. Kwan Yin has made sure that I have not. She has wrapped me in her concept of Om Mani Padme Hum. She is known as She Who Hears The Cries Of The World, for that is precisely what she did and does. She could have passed from this world of dread and pain into eternal enlightened light. Instead, she turned back to help us, to bring us to enlightenment and the end of pain, emotional and otherwise.

So Pain and Faith are intertwined, for the loss of Faith results in Pain. 9-11 caused outright panic and chaos. With each passing year, the terrorists are still winning. Please note: I am not directing my finger at who the "terrorists" are. I'm not passing my own personal judgment on if it were Islamic extremists or the U.S. Government. That is for others to debate. These terrorists, regardless of who they may be, are still capitalizing on what they did five years ago. I have long forgotten the intensity of the feelings I had that day. I remember the events as though they were yesterday, but I do not dwell on them, for that is what the terrorists wanted.

An Excerpt from Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown:

Langdon's head ached, and he felt like he was skirting the edges of rationality. He watched Vittoria and the camerlengo, but his vision was blurred by hideous images: explosions, press swarming, cameras rolling, four branded humans.

Shaitan ... Lucifer ... Bringer of light ... Satan ... He shook the fiendish images from his mind. Calculated terrorism, he reminded himself, grasping at reality. Planned chaos. He thought back to a Radcliffe seminar he had once audited while researching praetorian symbolism. He had never seen terrorists the same way since.

"Terrorism," the professor had lectured, "has a singular goal. What is it?"

"Killing innocent people?" a student ventured.

"Incorrect. Death is only a byproduct of terrorism."

"A show of strength?"

"No. A weaker persuasion does not exist."

"To cause terror?"

"Concisely put. Quite simply, the goal of terrorism is to create terror and fear. Fear undermines faith in the establishment. It weakens the enemy from within ... causing unrest in the masses. Write this down. Terrorism is not an expression of rage. Terrorism is a political weapon. Remove a government..s façade of infallibility, and you remove its people's faith."

Loss of faith... Is that what this was all about? Langdon wondered how Christians of the world would react to cardinals being laid out like mutilated dogs. If the faith of a priest did not protect him from the evils of Satan, what hope was there for the rest of us? Langdon's head was pounding harder now ... tiny voices playing tug of war.

Faith does not protect you. Medicine and airbags ... those are things that protect you. God does not protect you. Intelligence protects you. Enlightenment. Put your faith in something with tangible results. How long has it been since someone walked on water? Modern miracles belong to science ... computers, vaccines, space stations ... even the divine miracle of creation. Matter from nothing ... in a lab. Who needs God? No! Science is God.

I have faith in many things, but logic is what protects me from the fallout pain of misplaced faith. I believe in things unseen and seen and have been let down. I often used to use those letdowns as reasons to become embittered and cranky, not letting anyone inside my heart. But it was hardly a satisfying life.

I was miserable, my existence so small and meaningless. I meant nothing to anyone, least of all myself. Even my children were scattered to the winds, mere toddlers and already had no use for me. The depression set in and I was worthless to the youngest, the one I was entrusted to take care of by biology, the gods and goddesses, the government, and my own actions. He needed me and I was incapable of connecting to him, providing him with the care and love he needed.

He felt it, I'm sure of that, and he reacted in such an uncivilized manner that I began to refer to him as 'demon-spawn'. Many would think this an insult. Many would tell me I'm still a horrible mother for referring to my son with such a horrifying moniker. But let's look at some things first, shall we? I identify with the demon race known as the Succubus and their adoptive mother in lore, the first woman and wife of Asmodai, Lilith. "Demon-spawn", when in reference to my son, is not the insult people think it to be.

I spent a weekend recently with my significant other at the time and when I came home, my son actually greeted me. He ran to me, threw his arms around me, and kissed me profusely. This was odd behavior for him. And ever since that weekend, he continues to be my best buddy. He felt the change in me and reacted. He knew I was high on life and love for everyone and everything around me. My son saw the difference in me.

I had him with me the day things ended. Normally I would have left him at home, specifically to keep him away from such unpleasantries. However, my father was not home, I was out picking up cigarettes, and decided mid-trip to get things done and over with. His presence kept things civil, but I watched him. I watched his eyes and facial expressions. He was suddenly a shy little boy, making coy eye contact with the man I loved, and placing his little hands protectively, almost possessively, on my chest.

For the past few days, with the outpouring of love and thoughtfulness of dear friends, the reaction that I love the most is my son's. He gives me space when he sees I'm about to break down and behaves like a perfect little angel, quietly playing in front of the television with his toys. Within moments, I am my old self again, hugging, kissing and thanking him for being everything I need right now. The little punk has the nerve to blush to which I respond by tickling him and then we wrestle on the floor, his stuffed animals joining in the fray. We're laughing the whole time and it's wonderful.

This is what I always wanted when the thought, "Oh goodness, I'm going to be a mother" crossed my mind. This is what I thought it would be like. Not what I dealt with Samantha and Clara. No. That wasn..t motherhood. I wasn't allowed the option to connect and truly bond with my daughters. My son on the other hand, I have that opportunity.

I wallowed in self-pity when Josh left me that very last time. I couldn't look at my son and realize that he was all I really needed. I couldn't realize his unconditional love because I was so bereft. This time, the goddesses who have shown me their love recently have made sure that I see it, that I embrace it, and that I "wallow" in my son's love and not focus solely on my loss. Amazingly, my loss is Lex's gain and finally mine as well.

I don't know when I will get through my grief. I don't know if I will. But I have so much more than my grief to make me the person I am. My pain only strengthens my resolve and gratitude towards my current path.

I once wrote an essay called "The Narrow Path" (named for a part of my website at the time) and used a forest allegory for how every spiritual path leads through life, that none are more right or wrong than the others. Here is that essay:

The Origin

As mentioned in the Introduction of this website, "The Narrow Path" as a title came from the Bible. Before I continue to explain, I want to list the verse for those of you unfamiliar with the Bible and/or who have no desire to flip through a massive tome to find it (of which sentiment, I blame you not.) In the following version, the specific phrase ..narrow path.. is not used, but anyone familiar with this book of text knows that from version to version, wording is sometimes different.

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (NIV)

On May 1st, 1994, I was given a gold colored coin as a confirmation gift. This passage from Matthew is engraved around the edge in easy to understand English. It became a talisman, one that I clung to throughout high school and the typical teen struggle to find myself. Nine years later in May 2003, my grandmother Lona passed away. At her funeral, I found out that she had chosen this passage for her own confirmation verse around 1940. In her last remaining years, Lona suffered Alzheimer's Disease. Amazingly, even through her 77th birthday twenty days before her death, this Matthew 7 passage was one of the few things she could still recite.

This knowledge made my coin an even stronger talisman to me. Now it connected me on an even deeper level than before to an elder of my family. (Please note: Lona and her son Wayne, my dad, are not related to me by blood. Wayne and his wife, my biological aunt on my mother's side, adopted me in 1983.) The coin was a gift from Great Aunt Delores, who knew of both my love for Lona despite the lack of blood times and Lona's confirmation verse. My deep regard for all things Native American, their respect of family, and their ways of life bring this coin close to my heart and mind at all times, along with Lona's memory, even if it says, "Choose Life. Choose Jesus."

The Purpose

Wading through texts and tomes to find your own personal truth is much like walking a narrow trail through a forest. The way can become confusing and difficult. The wrong books can act as logs difficult to get past. The wrong associations with people can act as snaring branches that scratch your face. Not knowing what you are looking for can be the faded paint on signposts making you get utterly and completely lost. All these things can leave you with no idea which fork in the road, or which spiritual path, to continue on.

As time goes on, people find wider, easier paths. These come in the form of covens or organizations or groups of friends. These wider paths give you much needed respite and rest from the struggling path you once walked alone, and you still learn wonderful information to help you in your search for truth. But spiritual truth, your own spiritual truth, is a deeply personal matter.

Many Pagans I have met or interact with are what we call Solitary Pagans. We discuss our paganism and our own paths and our own truths, but we practice alone or at best with a significant other. In this, we travel our own path. Within covens, individuals still practice some of their spirituality in private. In this way, they too travel their own footpath, still visible to the wide trail of the coven. There are Initiates, Priests, and Priestesses who are part of large recognizable traditions. But even these can be found practicing parts of their faith alone within their homes and families. These people travel their own path too, within footfalls of the well-trodden road of the tradition.

No matter if one is a Solitary Practitioner, a Member of a Coven or Circle, or an Initiate, Priest or Priestess of a Grove or Congregation in a specific Tradition, there are points in our daily lives where we practice our spirituality alone. We commune with our deities or nature or God in a solitary manner, walking our own "Narrow Path".

This website, its title, and yes, even my Christian Gold Coin remind us that finding and living our spiritual path is not meant to be the easiest thing in the world. We pass from narrow footpath to narrow footpath, from wide trail to wide trail, constantly growing and learning. If our paths to spiritual awareness and enlightenment were meant to be easy, it would not be worth the time and effort we spend traveling them.
The Narrow Path is yours to find. We only are here but for a moment in time. Make your journey worth the pitfalls and trials you will face.

August 08, 2004 - 3 months before the birth of my son.

I am intelligent and beautiful. I am worthy and deserving of love. I deserve to have my life valued. All these things are true. But there will always be the desire to have someone who loves me deeper than anyone else. It's the one thing I've always wanted, that I've fought for harder than anything else, and have never quite achieved. Everything that I have ever valued, I fought hard for and got my hands on in the end. I know what it is like to fight for my life, for the lives of those I love, and to save lives in one way, shape or form.

I have always believed that everything I've been through, all the horrors and trials I have endured, brought me to a point where I could be there for others in similar situations. I've always been the one who allowed people to cry on my shoulder, to turn to me for advice. I handed it out because I knew what I was talking about. But when it came to love, I only ever was able to see the mistakes and say what not to do. When people didn't like what I had to say, I simply told them, "You've seen my track record. I should think I know what not to do by this point. But don't ask me what TO do. I obviously haven't figured it out."

So in my grief, I did a net search for Pagan ways to get through the loss of a relationship and found plenty of links. I only took the first four that struck my interest on the first page only. It was all stuff I knew, but in my times of grief always forgot. I posted them to my blogs as a reminder to myself and as a sign to others that I will not lay down my sense of self. Several points struck cords, specifically a quote by a member of care2.com.

I will not erase his pictures from my hard drive. I will not erase him from my sites. I will not erase him as though he never existed. The past is facts. My history is what made me the person I am. Every experience in my life is a page in my story, every love taught me something new. Every relationship I ever had prepared me for the relationship I had with him. I celebrate what I feel for him and mourn the loss as I would a death in my family. He was my heart and I will always miss him as long as he is out of my life.

I will most likely not post anything of substance to my blogs for a while. Going back to the fluff of daily grind. Nothing profound coming from this corner for a bit, gang. Time to focus on myself and take what he taught me and ruminate for a while. Time to realize that my faith is still not shaken.

Going forward down my path solo, as I always have.
~"Lillith Ubasti"
Elizabeth mK
Originally written November 1, 2006

Halloween - The Big Misunderstanding

Halloween has always been a great joy to children of all ages. And it's no wonder why. We get to dress up and pretend to be someone or something else and get gobs and gobs of candy by going door to door and yelling "Trick or Treat!"
But all over this country, town councils and school districts are taking that away... because of religion. While it is true that practitioners of many pagan faiths mark this as a religious holiday and many of the traditions/reasons behind Halloween events are pagan in origin, this doesn't mean that these past couple hundred years of parents taking their children trick or treating has been a celebration of devil-worship.
Samhain (pronounced sow-en) is the ancient Celtic New Year's celebration. For these ancient country dwelling and farming folk, life revolved around nature. They didn't have central air and heat; they had to collect firewood in order to keep warm. They didn't have refrigerators or stores to pick up supplies when the cupboards ran bare; they had to spend the autumn months storing food to last them through the long winter. In this way, Samhain was the last of the three harvest festivals (Lughnasadh and Mabon being the first two) where neighbors could get together and celebrate the bountiful harvest. They also took the time to help provide for the neighbors whose harvest was not as plentiful.
It is said that the 'veil between the worlds' was the thinnest on Samhain night, and spirits, both good and evil were free to roam the earth to visit friends and family, or wreck havoc on the non-cautious. If folk had to leave the comfort of friends and family, they covered themselves in animal skins to trick the spirits into believing they were animals. If no animal skins were available, they would carry a candle within a carved turnip to convince spirits they were a will-o-wisp. Both practices were designed to trick the evil spirits into believing the person was not worth plaguing with their tricks.
These two traditions should sound familiar. They are the basis for our Jack o'Lanterns and costume wearing of today.
During the celebrating and festivities, folk would set a plate of food outside their door to appease spirits and keep them from entering the home. Some spirits were invited in of course, like the passed on members of the family. These were served with a plate of food at the table, letting them know they had not been forgotten. These two customs have survived the centuries as well. The plate of food at the table for welcome spirits has not survived so much as a Halloween tradition, but has made its way into the wake dinner after a funeral. Offering the beloved one last meal before they passed on through the great divide.
And the food on the doorstep? What other reason could entice our little goblins and ghouls go door to door? To get the treats left for them of course!
These are just the main traditions of Halloween that have survived the test of time from the ancient Samhain celebrations. Now here's my question. Where in any of that was there mention of worshipping the devil?
Exactly. No where.
Halloween and Samhain, as separate yet connected celebrations, are a time for reflection, thankfulness, and remembering loved ones. During this trying time of religious discrimination, Pagans and Christians alike have raised their voices crying out against what they feel is meant to oppress them. But in the end, who suffers the most? The children.
No matter who is wrong or right, Halloween has become an American tradition. Does it matter what its spiritual connections are? Absolutely not. Many Christians get frightened that the 'witch' next door is going to spend the evening casting spells and hexes against them. Many Pagans are worried that their religious practices are being put on trial. For an uptight Christian with a stick up her butt, the one thing my mom never did was try to take Halloween and trick or treating away from us kids. It was a time to use our imaginations and spend time with friends walking neighborhoods and storing memories. Even if I spent seven years in the same costume as Snow White, I never once thought of how Halloween got started. All I knew was that it was one of the few times of the year Mom didn't complain about how much sugar my brother and I were eating.
Where did those days go? Children look forward to the dressing up (promoting creativity) and the massive sugar high. Why take away something that gives our children so much joy? Has the religious misunderstandings of recent years really turned us into a nation of people hurting our children under the guise of protecting them?