Crock pot dip

Today I made some dip in the crock pot. I usually make it with jalapeno peppers, but every store I looked at were either out or only had the expensive brand left. So I made it a little different, and after trying it, I think I like this version better. 

Ingredients:
2 blocks of cream cheese1 cup grated parmesan (real cheese not the stuff in the shaker can for on spaghetti)1/2 of a roasted red pepper diced1/2 of a green pepper diced1 small onion minced1 tsp. of granulated garlicBlack pepper sprinkled in to taste
Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low until all cheese is melted and peppers & onions are tender. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers. 

Daily OM-The Purpose of an Altar

The Purpose of an Altar 

If you didn’t grow up with an altar in your home, having an altar now may seem like an exotic and unattainable idea. Yet having an altar does not have to be complicated or difficult, nor does it need to be based on a religion or a set of ideas that don’t seem to relate to you. An altar can be a simple, personal expression of what you want to focus on right now. You do not have to build anything or take up a lot of space. You do not have to buy anything new or follow a complex set of instructions to create your altar. All you have to do is have a general understanding of what an altar is and the willingness to allow yourself access to this wonderful, ancient tool of transformation. 

At its most essential, an altar is simply a raised structure that serves as a resting place for meaningful objects. It focuses the eye and provides a place for contemplation and, if so desired, ritual. All of these elements can be quite simple. One idea for a simple altar is a pot with a bulb planted in it, set on a box. This altar to growth can act as a reminder to you that all living things bloom in their time. A simple ritual might be to write down dreams you would like to see come to fruition on scraps of paper. You might place these scraps of paper in the box, or under the flowerpot, or in an envelope you prop against the pot. As the flower grows, so will your dreams. 

If you look around your home, you may find that you have already created altarlike arrangements without even really thinking about it; this is something we humans do quite naturally. A candle, a decorative box, and a vase of flowers are just a few of the common household objects that lend themselves naturally to the creation of an altar. Simply add intention and intuition, and you have created your first altar. Remember that it isn’t necessarily about the objects you place at your altar—it is the time you spend with it daily, taking the time to be with it for your sacred time. 

The Daily OM

http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2009/21286.html

Bad weather this morning....

Daily OM-A Warm Refuge

Thank you, Steve, for being my best friend!! I love you!!! &hearts



A Warm Refuge

By the time we reach adulthood, many of us have had the good fortune to have at least one best friend. If we have moved around or changed our life situation repeatedly, we may be lucky enough to have had several. The best friend relationship is often our earliest intimate peer relationship, and it can be a source of great warmth and connection throughout our lives. The details of best friendship change as we grow up and grow older, but the heart of it remains the same. Our best friends are a warm refuge in which we feel free to be fully ourselves, to share our deepest secrets, to rest when we are tired, to celebrate when we are happy—a place in which we feel utterly welcome to give and receive that most precious of all gifts, love.

Most intimate relationships hit bumps from time to time, and one of the hallmarks of an enduring best friendship is its ability to ride out the turbulence and remain intact even as it faces changes. Our best friends are those who manage to love us through all of our transitions, as we do the same for them. We find ways to embrace and appreciate the differences that set us apart and offer love and support no matter what. We allow each other to be exactly as we are at a given moment, even as we allow each other to change over time. In this way, best friends sometimes feel like family. We know we will stick together regardless of where our individual paths lead.

We may be on the phone with our best friends every day, or we may not have spoken for a year, yet we know that our bond will be strong and immediate when we do connect. This bond ties us together even when we are apart and draws us blissfully back into the warm refuge of each other’s company when our paths bring us together again.

The Daily OM

Snow from the parking lot is still piled on r street. One small trail on the street 2 drive on.

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Positive thoughts spell

A friend of mine is having a really hard time right now and is doing his best to think positive. I sat down and wrote out a positive thoughts spell for him to help keep his thoughts positive. Thought I'd share it here too...



Get yourself four jars with screw top lids and set one somewhere that you will pass by it every day, and the others set aside to use later. Small, wide mouth canning jars work good for this.

Add to the jar (you can also say out loud what they are for when adding)-
Lavender and violet to bring peace and harmony
Allspice and nutmeg to bring good luck
Anise and basil to bring protection
Bay and carnation to bring strength
Cinnamon and ginger to bring success
Ginseng and sage to manifest wishes
Catnip and marjoram to bring happiness

Put enough of each in the jar to make a layer on the bottom.

Next to the jar put some paper and a pencil.

Every time you walk by the jar, stop and write something positive...
"I am happy"
"I live in a beautiful home"
"I love my spouse"
"Good things come to me"
"I am lucky"
....you get the idea, what ever feels right. Just make sure it is written in the present tense.

Every time you add a positive thought to the jar, close the lid and shake it while thinking of what you just wrote.

When the jar is full take it to a room in your home where you feel the happiest and most comfortable to store it until needed.

Take another jar and do the same with it as the first. You will fill each jar one at a time with herbs and positive thoughts then place them in the "happy room".

Once you have all the jars full, take them to the property you are purchasing and bury them, one in each corner of the property. Once they are all buried visualize a dome of positive energy coming up and surrounding your property.

This spell can be adapted for your own needs.

Dust? Orbs? Something else?

I was looking through my blog tonight and something caught my eye. I never noticed it before, but there are some weird things on one of my Birthday party pics. The pic of me holding up my new t-shirt with the skull and cross bones on it. They look kind of odd at the normal size, but when I went to put the circles around them I enlarged it to triple it's size and they REALLY looked odd. The one on the left side of the pic looks like a face looking straight on. The two in the middle, one above the skull and one below it kind of vertical from each other, look almost identical and look like a face looking to the right. The two on the lower right side are the weirdest, especially when enlarged, look like a face with a hand reaching out under it.

The only changes I made to the pic were the circles around the "orbs" and the speech bubble. You check it out and tell me what you think..

Happy Holidays!!!

Getting myself in the holiday spirit and changing the pumpkin signature to a Yuletide one....

Hercules

This is one of our cats, Hercules. He was sitting like a human on the snuggler. He's our oldest cat- about 10 years old. I wanted to test the pic messaging on here so I sent this pic.

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