Air Mother

Wind Mother

The Wind Mother is one that doesn’t seem to quit talking.  She is the hub of communication and always aware of everything and everyone around her.  She seems to know everything that’s going on whether she’s seen it herself or knows of it somehow that people aren’t quite sure of.

She’s the essence of purity of the spirit.  Of wisdom.  Of intuition. When talking to the Wind Mother all your cares seem to flow away.  She seems to know exactly what to say to easy your worries and fears.  She knows if you hold onto the negative that it can bring you much unhappiness and weigh your soul down.  So speaking to her is like a breath of fresh air and allows you to understand what you’ve been missing.  The bigger picture and not just the details that often hide what’s there.

Though she is a care free type Mother you have to be wary of the Wind Mother.  She can be as light and carefree one second and then as violent as a tornado the next and then in the next second as sweet as can be again.  So be careful what you say or even do.  They know and will tell you exactly how they feel about it.

In essence, be wary of the Wind Mother.  While she’s intuitive she can be flighty.  While she’s good at communicating she can easily stick her foot in it and mess a few things up but easily fix them.  But she is one of the only Mother’s to be very flexible.

Water Mother

Water Mother

The Water Mother is the essence of purity and fertility.  She works well with the Mother of Earth because they often share the common traits of wisdom, life, transformation.   But one has to watch the Water Mother for she is the embodiment of emotion, empathy, intuitiveness, and the seat of the nurturing of the elements.  Her imagination has no comparison seeing as, even though she’s a nurturing element, piss her off and she can be just as negatively moody and cold. 

The Water Mother is able to find the balance in her home life and work, between nurturing her family and her friends she’s able to be fulfilled in her knowledge that she’s able to help so many.    Her still waters comfort those around her and with that also connect us with a deeper connection. 

The Water Mother can be one though that has many tempers.  Warm and inviting when sick, allowing you to breathe easier.  Nurturing and quenching when you need that relief that only water can provide.  Chilling and slightly terrifying when angered, so much so they could destroy something or someone with words or actions alone.

Stay well on this Mother’s good side, for if you do, cookies, cuddles, and comfort is a bound.  Anger her and you will regret it with every fiber of your being.

Fire Mother

Fire Mother

The Mother of Fire is the essence of passion.  They can either be passionately loving, extroverted, brave, or passionately pissed off, uncontrollable, and furious.  You have to tread carefully around someone of the fire element.  Choose your words carefully because this epitome of a warrior will either stand beside you or take you down.

This element is quick to change moods, as wild and untamed as the flames that spring forth during the dry season in a wild fire or the flames of a forest fire.  Though you can tame the flames enough to reside in a hearth in the home, you must always be respectful.  The fire is quick to burn and quick to spread, to destroy.

But just as quick as it is to destroy the flames of Mother Fire can inspire and cleanse.  She knows when change is needed but you need to keep her in check or she’ll overdo it.  Follow her guidance carefully and she may help you when you are at your lowest to inspire you with a much needed boost of inspiration.

But underestimating this mother is not wise for even while passionate to inspire, anger her and she’ll destroy you just as fast.

Earth Mother

Earth Mother

The Mother of Earth is the essence of stability.  The foundation of life, wisdom and knowledge, she is the keeper of the circle of life and death.  Nurturing she raises the seedlings and the young till they reach adult hood and when their lives are at an end she releases that which she raised back to the beginning to nurture the new generation.

If you know someone of the earth element they’ll be a nurturer.  They are steady and reliable and will try to give all they have in nurturing the future.

Though like the element they are made of they are quiet in that aspect they’re always watching and learning and will speak up when disturbed.  And though they may seem calm, cool and collected on the outside, when angered they can erupt like a volcano.  So where they are the foundation of calm, they are a broiling powerhouse of emotion below the surface.

Never underestimate an Earth Mother.  They will prove you wrong every step of the way because they are so in tune with their surroundings.

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The first care of my Oracle deck that I'm trying to work finishing.  So far I've been working slowly through the meanings of the cards.  I'm halfway through I believe.  So expect more of these from my tumblr of the same name as this blog.  And please, feel free to leave comments!  I'd love to read them!

So, Jam day!

This year was a first for me.  I've canned foods before.  Tomatoes, beans, berries, and meats but I've honestly never, never ever, made jam before.  Which is very sad.  That changed a couple weeks ago.

My girlfriend and I had stopped at a farm on the way back from a fiber festival to pick up some Honey Crisp apples.  We had a couple of bruised ones but Honey Crisp apples actually hold very well and these were ginormous! The size of softballs!  And soooo very juicy and crisp.  Well, with so many we decided to try a jam that my girlfriend had found.  This Jam right here!  It smells amazing and tastes amazingly sweet. It should for how mush sugar is in it!

Well... we tried it and jarred some and it was delicious!

So my plans for today are going to be to peel the apples my future mother-in-law brought us and make another batch of jam with those and with the left overs some apple butter!  I'll post an update with pictures later for you guys and maybe see about posting some of the process but I'm not so sure since I only have one set of hands!

If anyone's tried this recipe I'd love to hear your experience!  Feel free to comment!

Random Thoughts

Sometimes I wonder who the hell actually follows my blog and how the hell they find it.  Randomly or because they searched for books I've reviewed..... What is it?

Honestly I could care less.  It's just weird in my mind that people actually find this blog.  It's sporadic at best at being updated and when it is it's never anything that's worth mentioning.  In my mind at least.

If I ever become known for  something though I'm guessing I'm going to kick myself for this post later......

Book Review - Area 187: Almost Hell by Eric R. Lowther

In the year 2007 an accident at a clandestine U.S. government facility in rural West Virginia releases several test subjects infected with a necrotic virus. Within weeks the U.S. military and the Department of Homeland Security are forced to declare the bulk of the state under quarantine. Defensive lines are fortified and nothing is allowed in or out, damning those missed in the short period of evacuations to a living hell and locking away the real truth of the virus’ creation. The government transfers the responsibility of maintaining the quarantine from the military to the Department of Homeland Security, which christens it “Area 187”. Suits and claims are dismissed under anti-terror legislation as the rest of government scrambles to cover their involvement in the original project, distancing themselves and their reelections. Seven years pass. Homeland Security enforces a total news blackout on all things Area 187, and as with other disasters before it the bulk of America is more than willing to move on. Conspiracies continue to thrive outside the now-immense defensive wall and fortifications, and mercenaries known as “grave robbers” regularly slip in and out of the Area, stealing valuables and taking contracts to bring back specific items for well-paying customers. Our story follows Josephine Terrell, a television reporter and John Heath, once an Air Force search-and-rescue team leader that escaped the Area after five years of fruitless searching for his wife, as they risk their lives from both the dead and the living inside Area 187 to rescue a group of survivors. Josephine is looking for the story of the century, one that will prove living, breathing Americans still await rescue inside the Area and that Homeland has been covering up their existence. Heath joins her mission after he sees what may be his wife, Eileen, in a video message from the survivors. Personal rivalries, government conspiracies and a simple man’s simple promise weave together with death incarnate to follow their every step as they make their way through a blasted, nightmarish landscape full of the hungering dead. But the peril offered by the mindless corpses behind the wall becomes second to the danger presented by the living beyond it…

Area 187: Almost Hell by Eric R. Lowther
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not going to lie, I wanted this book because of two things. Zombies and the fact that it's based around West Virginia my home state.

I had no clue what to think of this book when I first started it. I knew Zombies and government cover up but I didn't know exactly what or how it happened. I just know that the government did something stupid and blocked off the entire state of West Virginia and parts of the other states surrounding it. Anyone in or out was shot, anyone investigating the area known as Area 187 mysteriously disappeared or ended up dead.

We start with Josephine, a reporter who's working on trying to bring light to the plight of those from Area 187. She risks her life to find someone who will take her into the area and get more information about those that are still trying to survive there. She finds the one man who escaped with more than his life and is haunted by what he left behind. And after some 'convincing' Jo is on her way with one time Air Force Search and Rescue agent John Heath as they make their way through the Zombie infested area. All in search of what Heath originally fought for.

I didn't know what to expect from this story really. I didn't expect many of the twists that were in the plot. I also didn't expect to see the human nature portrayed so well and almost realistically to the point I could see myself probably becoming as desperate as those within area Area 187.

I really enjoyed the book from start to finish and I'd really like to read it again. I just really, really liked it!

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Book Review - Icecore: A Carl Hobbes Thriller by Matt Whyman

He's a seventeen-year-old British computer hacker who penetrated the security systems at Fort Knox for a laugh. But the American government was less than amused. Since his prank, gold bars have been landing in the hands of terrorists across the globe.Now, Carl has found himself in a military prison deep in the Arctic and far off the grid. He's been caged alongside the world's most notorious terrorists, with no one to trust and no end in sight.Carl Hobbes may not be a criminal mastermind, but if he wants to escape this subzero prison with his life, he'll have to start thinking like one.

Icecore: A Carl Hobbes Thriller by Matt Whyman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't know what to think when starting this book. Not going to lie. This sort of book isn't my cup of tea. I'm definitely a fantasy, sci-fi sort of girl but this story drew me in.

The poor kid in the beginning getting whisked away by special agents because he hacked into Fort Knox. Thrown into a holding camp meant for mercenaries, terrorists, and high profile criminals. Carl Hobbs didn't know what hit him after that when a high level mercenary who was hired for a hit right there in the prison got out.

I never expected the events to happen at the end of the book. Actually took me by surprise. But I liked it. I did like this book. Well written, plenty of suspense and turns. I'm glad I read it!

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Book Review - Jenny Pox by J. L. Bryan

Eighteen-year-old Jenny Morton has a horrific secret: her touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague, the "Jenny pox." She lives by a single rule: Never touch anyone. A lifetime of avoiding any physical contact with others has made her isolated and painfully lonely in her small rural town.

Then she meets the one boy she can touch. Jenny feels herself falling for Seth...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the deadly pox inside her to confront his ruthless and manipulative girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

* * *

Not recommended for readers under eighteen

Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What in the world did I just read? Really? What in the heck did I just read?

The story starts out moderately ok when you start to get to know the main character by the name of Jenny. We find out that this poor girl was born with the curse of a plague at her touch. Her mother was killed when giving birth to the poor girl, along with the the doctors and nurses that were there at the time. She seems to be cursed by this and can't see a silver lining to anything.

She's spent her whole life trying to protect those around her from her curse by wearing clothing that covers as much of her body as possible, wearing gloves and staying out of the lime light as much as possible while trying to survive high school. But that all changes her senior year when the popular Ashleigh's boyfriend begins to befriend her.

Then we're thrown into a whole wild ride of Jenny learning about Ashleigh's boyfriend's gift and then Ashleigh's. Finding romance with the one person that isn't harmed by her touch sends Jenny into a spiral of events that leaves several of the town girls pregnant and more than half the town dead.

Ashleigh turns out to be one of those sociopathic characters that you love to see get their comeuppance. She deserves every horrible thing thrown at her for every character she manipulated within the story and with how she handled everything. I actually cheered when she got what she deserved.

But after that I was confused. I mean.... what? Again, what did I just read? Past lives? Dead coming back to life? Whaaaat?

All in all it was an ok book. I'm glad I was able to get it borrowed because I don't think I would have wanted to own it. And the rating definitely should have been 18 years or older. Not just classified with a YA.

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Well here goes nothing....

So, I finally got off my butt and decided to throw something into a shirt design contest.  It's not a guarantee I'll even get into the contest to the voting section, but we'll see what happens.  I'm hoping I'll get at least a couple votes....  Who doesn't remember Daria and Sick, Sad World?  That's the shirt design that I chose thanks to my lovely girlfriend who suggested it.  I like it a lot.  But we'll see.

They also have a contest for The Lion King which I plan on putting one in for that one if I can.  I mean, come on, why not?  I grew up with The Lion King being my most favorite movie for the longest time.  I don't know what I'm going to do yet though.  I want something freaking epic.

I hope my tablet lasts that long.  I think it's slowly going kaput.  Poor little bastard.  It did so well for a while.  The pen is going though and I think it'd be worth more just to get a whole new set up rather than deal with just getting a new pen seeing as my specific tablet is kinda the old model.  Again, poor little bastard....

Anyway, if my design gets up I'll post a link here and on facebook so people will vote for it!  Please please please go for it!  I'd really appreciate it!

Later guys!

Book Review - The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book.... This is one weird, slightly scary book. Just so you know.

This story plays on the fear that the government is controlling us in someway and makes those that don't follow the rules disappear. Even those that have a genetic factor that makes it so the mind control doesn't work disappears. And if your parents were 'trouble makers' then it's a good possibility that you'll be thrown somewhere where you have no change to get in the government's way.

Poor Alenna seems to have nothing going for her. At ten her parents are taken by the government and she's put into an orphanage. At sixteen, she and hundreds, nay thousands of teens go through a 'test' to weed out those who'd cause problems in the government that literally has no crime. After a trip to a museum created by the leader of the new government that was created to stop all wars, she sees the Island where all teens who fail the test go. Brutal, she hopes she passes with flying colors.

But Alenna wakes on the Island panicking and not alone. In the few days she's rescued, makes friends, and fights for her life against 'drones' of the cult of the Monk. She and several members of the village that she became part of make a trek to try and make it off the island. But after several deaths, a capture of what's left of their group, and entrance to the restricted 'grey zone' with the Monk himself Alenna finds she's bitten off more than she can chew.

This story honestly kept me guessing to the very end where I paused with a twitch and thought, "What the heck did I just read?" It was different, eye opening to the point where you had to think that the events really had a possibility of happening at one point. And it also got the conspiracy theorist in my thinking. So many what ifs tumbling about my head that it had me thinking long after I put the book down.

I honestly can't wait to read the second one!

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Well, just a regular post! Sorry folks!

So, after gaining a job, hating that job, finally getting another job to make more money to actually pay bills and then losing that first job, then the other because it's seasonal.... I finally have a job I'm moderately ok with for now.  I like it though I've never been fond of working till 7 and that's my schedule next week.  Not excited but it's a job that pays above minimum wage.  And it's direct deposited into my account. So that's even better!

I really need to get my ass in gear because my partner suggested months ago to look into creating greeting cards.  There's a small market for them but I think I could do well if I just got off my ass and actually did something.  Some people are selling their cards for more than 15 bucks a pop for five or six cards!  I mean.... come on!  That's not including s and h.  I could do it.  I even have a kinda cute design group name.  I need to draw that too.  Yeesh.  Bad me.  Very bad me.

In other news, my partner and I are looking into homes.  We're getting fairly tired of the people upstairs and we just want a place of our own.  We found one that looks adorable and would be large enough for the two of us.  We don't need a lot and it would honestly be a little cheaper than what we'd be paying now.  I mean, why not?  I know they say your home is where your heart is, but sometimes you need a place to plant yourself, that you feel comfortable enough in to know you can always come back to.  We're looking for that, and for some odd reason, I really really think we should look at the place that caught our attention.  We'll see though.  My partner has a want to be out before December.  Again, we'll see.

Hmmmm..... Anything else?  I don't think so at this moment.  I'm going to go back to reading some more so I can post some more reviews.  Maybe if/when I get some card designs done I'll post them later.

Book Review - Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.


Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one twisted tale that I couldn't put down. I almost finished it in one day but I had to stop and actually sleep! I'm glad I read it because it was so different from every story I've ever read that dealt with the story of Cinderella.

First off, a cyborg Cinderella? Didn't expect that at all and I wasn't sure how it was going to work either. But some how it works amazingly well. How she sorta fits into the world she's lived in but yet how she is still pushed to the edges of society.

Her semi normal life drastically changes after she's asked by the Prince to help fix an android, then as she's trying to fix her 'stepmother's' vehicle for little to nothing her sister becomes sick with a disease that's threatening all of Earth. She's then rushed off to 'help' with finding an antidote to help with saving not only her sister but helping the Emperor and the rest of the world. Then when she thought things couldn't get any worse they do when the Lunar kingdom's queen comes sniffing around the palace and she gets caught up in the middle of it.

With all the twists and turns through this story, I couldn't wait to see what the next chapter brought. My only problem with this story was that I knew exactly who Cinder was early in the story and I had a feeling about how the story might turn. But I still loved this book! I would definitely read it again!

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Book Review - Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

The eldest daughter is often doomed in fairy tales. But Bella—Isabella Beauchamps, daughter of a wealthy merchant—vows to escape the usual pitfalls.

Anxious to avoid the traditional path, Bella dons a red cloak and ventures into the forbidden forest to consult with "Granny," the local wisewoman. But on the way home she's attacked by a wolf—who turns out to be a cursed nobleman. Secluded in his castle, Bella is torn between her family and this strange man who creates marvelous inventions and makes her laugh—when he isn't howling at the moon.

Bella knows all too well that breaking spells is never easy. But a determined beauty, a wizard (after all, he's only an occasional werewolf) and a little Godmotherly interference might just be able to bring about a happy ending.

Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am ashamed to admit that I did not remember much from the first time I read this one! I reread it though because I just can't get enough of the author's stories.

Bella is a very strong female character who keeps surprising you around every turn. She knows how to run a home and unlike other fairy tells where the stepmother is wicked her's is quite tolerable and just a little silly. There's no bad blood between her or her step sisters either! But things go south for her when a visit to Granny turns into something she didn't expect. She handles everything in turn though and handles herself well and without the hysterics her step mother or sisters would show.

Even though I remember reading this story I was still surprised in the end. Honestly, reading through you probably wouldn't have suspected the person who practically caused this whole mess to begin with. But now that I've had a little time to think things through, it makes a lot of sense and I can see the small hints here and there that pointed the way.

And like most of Mercedes Lackey's books I'd be willing to reread this one again. This newest series of the Five Hundred Kingdoms is a brilliant twist on the classic fairy tells that we're almost always used to! I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

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Book Review - The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.


Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was definitely different from the usual books I've enjoyed in the past. I enjoyed it because it was a different take on the magical world.

Mackie's character was honestly one of the best I've seen for a while. The conflicting emotions he deals with and the uncertainty of who he is during the story was fairly real. It made me think of the problems most boys his age would have. That is, if most boys his age where left behind and couldn't handle anything that had Iron. His development through the book makes his character stronger and my attachment to him even more so that it was at the beginning.

The connection to the magical world and the human world was an interesting, yet believable (in my opinion). One needing the other to survive and with such guidelines. You actually feel a little bad for some of the magical characters as you get further into the story line.

All in all, a good read.

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Book Review - Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer–one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack–and the man–she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I couldn't get to this book fast enough to see what would happen. So many changes, so much that actually was confusing because we'd been told one thing in the first book and now we're finding out something completely different. The dynamic of the characters was different but not is a bad way. It showed the desperation that some of us face when we lose a part of ourselves that had always been there. The betrayal of those that were closest to us. And the determination that comes with the fight for freedom.

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Book Review - Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, what can I say about this book. First off, I really did like this book. It was different than other Wolf books out there. Twists, turns, and the totally obvious ending that would happen. But even with the obvious ending it was worth the read! And I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second book. Good thing my sister gave it to me as a gift then!

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