bluuue moooooon, you saw me standing alooooooone...

if you know what movie/musical thats from, cookie for you :)
exciting lunar activity tonight! and a pretty cool way to bring in the new year :)

from spaceweather.com: Believe it or not, tonight's full Moon is a "Blue Moon." It's the second full Moon this month and the first Blue Moon to fall on New Year's Eve in nearly 20 years. Sounds like a rare excuse for a party...

There's more. In Europe, Africa and Asia, the Blue Moon will dip into Earth's shadow for a partial lunar eclipse. At maximum eclipse, around 19:24 Universal Time, approximately 8% of the Moon will be darkly shadowed.

Blue Moons are rare (once every 2.5 years). Blue Moons on New Year's Eve are rarer still (once every 19 years). How rare is a lunar eclipse of a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve?

A search of NASA's Five Millennium Catalogue of Lunar Eclipses provides an approximate answer. In the next 1000 years, Blue Moons on New Year's Eve will be eclipsed only 11 times (once every 91 years). A year of special note is 2848 when there will be two lunar eclipses in December--on Dec. 1st and Dec. 31st. Such a double-Blue Moon-lunar eclipse ending on New Year's Eve appears to be a millennium-level event. That's rare.

Go outside and enjoy the moonlight!

paging dr. house

so yesterday i woke up with a dull/burning pain in my ribs and mid-back. it continued all day, to the point where i couldnt get off the couch. ibuprofen helped....for about half an hour. icyhot patches didnt help; the pain felt like it was in my bones and not my muscles, anyway. so finally around 5 i took some tylenol pm and went to bed. slept for 4 hours, then woke up every 2 hours until about 8 am. had some pretty fucked up dreams every time i slept, too. dont ask me to relate them, as i dont remember them now...but if you know me and you know my dreaming habits, you have a general idea lol. anyway the back pain was gone this morning, but now i had the same pain in my chest, and it was hard to breathe, like something was squeezing me. mitch took me to the er around 6, and they told me i have post-nasal drip and a viral upper respiratory infection. which i think is complete and utter bullshit, as i have exactly one of the nine listed symptoms of VURI. but thankfully its easier to breathe now and the pain is (mostly) gone. they gave me sudafed and told me that if it gets worse to come back in. um, ya, if things get worse ill definitely go back to the er...but next time, ill be going off-post. to a civilian hospital. because frankly, army doctors (at least the ones at womack) suck balls and i dont trust them as far as i can throw them. oh well, moral of the story: im feeling better. and be wary of military medical care.

joyeux noël

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the maison

Not a creature was stirring, pas même un raton.

Les enfants had all said “bonsoir” to maman

And were now in their nightgowns, or en pyjamas.

While Maman was baking a Christmas gâteau

Le papa was away at the corner bistro.

Les chaussettes were all hung by the chimney with soin

In hopes that St. Nick n’était pas très loin.

And would bring to the children, both bons and mauvais,

All the bonbons et cadeaux that he could porter.

When out in the yard was heard such a son

That I leaped out of bed like a frightened cochon.

I hurried to open the bedroom fenêtre,

And who in the world do you think that it être?

Père Noël was there with his crazy chapeau!

And – ZUT! – he had reindeer to pull his traineau!

I watched as they came, and this quaint old garçon

Was shouting and whistling and calling each nom.

On Hugues et Maurice! Rodolphe et Richard !

On Pierre et Patrice ! Et Georges et Gérard !

With his round little belly that shook like gelée,

He struggled to squeeze down our old cheminée.

Then, huffing and puffing came into our salle

With his red suit all sooty; Mon Dieu, he looked mal!

With lovely cadeaux he filled all the chaussettes,

For none of the children had been really bêtes.

Then laughing aloud with an air très content,

He turned like a flash and was gone like the vent!

And I heard him exclaim in a voice so heureux,

Merry Christmas to all! Et Noël très joyeux!!

its christmas eve! rawr!

so today is christmas eve, and mitch and i are celebrating today as he has to work tomorrow. le sigh.
today has been great so far; we went to IHOP for delicious breakfasty numnums and then came back and relaxed. well, i relaxed; he had to drive someone to UPS and the airport. then he came back and relaxed. i got to talk to all of my moms side of the family this morning; they were all at my uncles house for breakfast. by now theyre at my grandmas (dads mom) getting ready to eat dinner and then open presents. (i miss being with family and friends this year...oh well. next year for sure!!) i watched white christmas while he played his nerd games. i put the potato casserole in the oven about half an hour ago and lemme tell ya, it smells AMAZING. the ham will be going in shortly; well also be having buttery broccoli. and wine...mmmmmmmmmmm, wine ^_^ after dinner presents will be opened and then well watch a christmas carol (the one with patrick stewart; its his favorite version, ive never seen it. so im excited :). all in all, its just gonna be a relaxing, low-key christmas, just me and the hubbs :)

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

the wives who wait

Twas the night before Christmas
And there all alone
I saw a young woman
Who sat by the phone

For what was she waiting
On this holiday night
Where were the stockings
Christmas tree, lights?

I saw one little tear
As it rolled down her face
And she curled up in a blanket
Then looked round the place

Something was missing
Someone not here
In her face I saw sadness
Did I also see fear?

I paused and I wondered
What could it be?
That would cause a young woman
To look so lonely

How could anyone so precious
Choose such a life?
Then I realized this woman
Was a soldiers wife.

Her gift for this Christmas
Is to hear that phone ring
“Hey baby, I miss you
Don’t worry about a thing”

Each day I thank God for the soldiers that serve
Ever willing to fight and lay down his life
But how often do I ever remember to think
About the young woman who is that soldier’s wife

Thank you God for these women
They are just as strong
They sacrifice daily
And without help get along

So God please protect our soldiers
On this holiday eve so late
And give an extra hug
To their wives who wait

written by Jeannie Lining, during OEF deployment 2008

hurrah! randominity!

mtvs "teen mom" is like a trainwreck, and i absolutely love it.

im ready for this week to be over; i have been SO stressed out lately. christmas is gonna suck this year :( yes mitch will be home christmas eve (although hell be on call) but he will be working all day and night on christmas day. i will be alone in the house on christmas day, and it sucks. i hate that we wont be with friends and family, it absolutely blows. i might take mitch in to work so i can have the car and maybe go see a movie or something.

i still have to wrap presents, i have to finish the penguin stocking im making for mitch (shh, its a surprise ;), and tomorrow i have to bake and decorate the cutout cookies. all this will (hopefully) get done tomorrow.

i am so ready to just drive down to PGD and hang out for a few days. SX people, meet me at harpoon harrys.

im getting ready to start another vampire series, night world. im pretty excited about it; its by the same guy that wrote vampire diaries. and i loved those books. im also excited to read the newest book in the house of night series. just waiting for it to come in at the library; i reserved it and i think im like #15 on the list. so it shouldnt take too long.

i miss the old worthington library. that place is just so cozy and relaxing to hang out in. the library here sucks. its small and there is far less of a selection. there are always loud kids running around and a ridiculous wait. unlike old worthington, which has like 10 self-checkout stations, the library here does not have self-checkout, and while there are 4 computers behind the desk, i have never seen more than 2 being used at a time. its so annoying.

i really wish we could afford to live in german village when we move back home. its so pretty there. although, no matter where in columbus we live, it will be a million times better than this godforsaken city. i am so beyond sick of fayetteville. fucking fayette-nam >.<

if mitch were a kitty, this would be him:

today is the winter solstice, aka Yule

Around the world at this time of year people of many diverse cultures are looking forward to the winter holidays. By some the celebration is called Hanukkah, by others Christmas, Las Posadas, Kwanzaa, Ta Chiu, and many others. As Pagans we are preparing to celebrate Yule, or the Winter Solstice.

Usually occurring around December 20th or 21st it is the shortest day of the year and the longest night. At this solar festival the Goddess shows Her aspect of Life-in-Death. She is the icy Lady of the cold and darkness, and yet She is preparing for the birth of the Child of Light – her son turned lover who will make Her fertile once again, restoring light and warmth to the Earth.

The traditions of the season are many and varied, but it is a time of coming together with the sharing of gifts, a custom dating back to the Roman festival of Saturnalia, of reflecting on the year past and preparing resolutions for the year to come.

Contrary to the popular belief of many, the customs we so often celebrate didn't begin with Christmas, but actually started over four thousand years ago in Egypt in a twelve day period of festivities honoring Horus the god who appeared as the sun each day. From that point forward, other sun-worshiping cultures such as Babylon, Greece, Persia and Rome created their own festivals until a new religion, Christianity began to sweep through the civilized world.

However, those who followed the Old Ways were comfortable with their unique lifestyle and traditions, knew their deities and weren't so eager to just give them up! In order to keep peace so to speak, the Church began to incorporate many aspects of Pagan worship into their rituals.

The plan was all well and good in theory, but the Romans weren't so pleased with this idea and felt that their gods and goddesses were being mocked. And so, around the fourth century the Church decided that what their patriarchal religion needed was a Mother Goddess figure. With that, a new emphasis began to be placed on Mary, the mother of Jesus, who received the often-used title of “Queen of Heaven” and in the pagan world created a link to the Egyptian Queen of Heaven, Isis!

The Church then chose December 25th as the day to celebrate and named their festival “Birth of the Son”. Sounds similar to the Pagan “Sun”, right? So, with this arrangement everyone could be relatively at ease and Christmas came into being.

As time went on customs and traditions sort of melded together – symbols adopted by those adhering to the Old Ways and those born of the new Christianity finally all passed into use and have become a part of our diverse winter celebrations – all with the common theme, the birth of a God by the Goddess.

Still today “decking the halls” sends a signal that we are anticipating a special time of the year, and making merry brings just as much joy as we gather with family and friends as it did among the ancient people as they feasted, drank and danced in honor of the return of the sun and the god of light and renewal. Greenery such as laurel, pine, and holly continue to serve as decorations of the season just as they did in the earliest winter festivals. Because they were always green they were thought to have power over death and destruction and to defeat demons.

Mistletoe, which was held in great reverence by the Druids because of its mysterious birth, was hung over doorways to protect from thunder and lightning and was held as being sacred – it's berries being symbolic of the semen of the god and believed to bring fertility and abundance. Bells were originally rung to drive away the dark spirits that came out during the long, cold nights and candles were given by the ancient Romans as gifts at Saturnalia because their brightness was thought to encourage the Sun back into the sky.

Perhaps one of the best-known customs, which dates back to Pagan roots, is the burning of the Yule Log. Although this originally came from the Greeks, the Celts gave it new meaning – the log which was of oak represented the Oak King and was adorned with evergreens for the Holly King. Traditionally, the log burned for twelve days continuously and a bit of the wood was saved to kindle the next year's fire.

From the Anglo-Saxons came the ritual of wassailing, the term “wassail” meaning to hail or salute. Wassailing the Orchard Trees was done by sprinkling them with a mixture of eggs, apples, and wine, ale or cider and offering a toast as a consecration so that they would continue to produce abundantly.

While historical facts are both important and interesting, our enjoyment of the Yule sabbat should not depend upon them. By whatever name we call this season, it should be one of light and warmth, peace and joy, and the celebration of birth and renewal. If we let it, Yule can be the one Sabbat that we can celebrate with those of other paths, without compromising our own.

We can appreciate the fact that we know the ancient origins of our current day customs, and whatever seasonal greeting we receive – be it “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Hanukkah”, “Happy Holidays”, or others – can answer joyfully, “And a blessed Yule to you also”!

~from witchvox.com

9 more days? i cant wait!

did anybody else read this book growing up? it was one of my favorites! i wish i could find it in stores now, but sadly its been out of print for quite some time Y_Y
well ive mailed all my cards, ive decorated the house and the tree, im almost done with gifts, most of them are ready to ship, all i really have left to do is bake cookies and wrap mitchs gift! ive watched all the christmas specials - the grinch, rudolph, frosty, mickeys christmas carol - and ive been listening to the nonstop christmas music station back in ohio online. i even got mitch to wear a santa hat! (see how thrilled the kitties are to be a part of this? lol)

i wish like crazy mitch and i could be home for christmas with our families, but we have to take what we can get, and at least he isnt working on christmas anymore. we will be able to have a nice relaxing christmas as a couple, and im looking forward to it :)

no bueno :(

its 65 degrees outside right now, and my windows are open. youd think this would be a good thing, right? nope. tomorrow its gonna be cold again, but now im in the mood for spring and tomorrows coldness will just make me all depressed kitteh :( im so sick of this weather, it need to either get cold and stay cold or get warm and stay warm!! :(

now i really want it to be spring *sighs*

look at my pretty tree! ^_^

oy

so now the word is that e-4's might not have to work on christmas day. which means mitch will be home for christmas! now lets hope this doesnt change.....have i ever mentioned how much i HATE it when the army jerks us around? >.<

*sighs*

so i dont usually post army-related stuff on here, but i must whine a little bit.
we just found out that mitch has to work staff duty on christmas. which means hell be gone from 9:00 christmas morning til 9:00 the next morning. there are 3 guys who he could switch with and who have no family here, but theyre refusing. which pisses me off - if they have no family here and nobody to see on christmas, why dont they switch with someone who does? but apparently in the army youre not considered a "family" until you have kids >.< oh well, at least we still have christmas eve. and i have a wonderful friend here, phoenix, who has invited me over for christmas dinner with her family. it just wont be the same...i was looking forward to spending the first christmas in the same physical location with my husband :(

this past weekend

i drove home to ohio to see my family and help decorate the tree. this is a huge tradition in my family. every year, on the second saturday after thanksgiving, all of my grandparents come over and we all decorate the tree, and afterwards there is a turkey dinner ^_^ its a huge affair in more ways than one - because there are 10 people in the house and also because our tree is always massive. my parents house has 19-foot vaulted ceilings in the family room, so our trees are always at least 12 feet tall. i think this years was 13 feet lol. unfortunately my grandpa john couldnt be here this year because he was in the hospital with pneumonia (he went home today and is recovering) but i was just grateful to be there. mitch and i arent going to make it home for christmas because hes on call every weekend indefinitely, so it was a real blessing to be able to be home for this.

me and my siblings in front of the tree. O-H! ^_^