Lion and Magic Boy

Eric has Scarlet Fever.

He wasn’t quite himself over the weekend, choosing to nap some and whine a lot. Wasn’t particularly hungry either though he asked for snacks constantly. No fever. I’ve seen sicker. Though he was sporting a nice red rash all over. If this is Scarlet Fever then no biggie. The Ex took him to the doctor today and he was duly swabbed and dosed for strep, and strep + rash = Scarlet Fever.

My throat hurts just writing this.

However! You know I’ve been writing over at Workitmom for awhile, and the whole experience got a lot more fun a few weeks ago when Karen Rani of Karen Sugarpants joined and made us all in awe of her marathon training. I kid you not! I have such a crush now. Though I admit I had to get over the whole “Karen R. and Karen M.” thing. I thought I left that behind in like 4th grade, where there were FOUR Karens in my class and I swore I would rename myself to something better REALLY SOON.

(I am still open to suggestions. Please add yours.)

But hey! Workitmom is celebrating the big Oh-One and there are contests! And prizes! (More appropriately referred to as the Birthday Bash Giveaway!) And did I mention PRIZES??! I’m thrilled to be a part of this great community resource for working women. Really! Go see!

Also: (bad segue? You be the judge) Ass Cork Cat, now known as Blood-Dripping Peeing Apparent Razor Blades In Inappropriate Places Cat, is also on antibiotics. Guess how much fun it is to dose a cat with that?

I am so awesome. And on the radio! Last night. But through the magic of, uh, stuff that gets recorded and saved, you can listen to me channeling about connecting more deeply to your inner self here. For two hours. I was, like, the whole show. Because I am awesome.

(Please ignore the first 1 minute 25 seconds of annoying intro music. I have no control over that.)

Also, if you haven’t been to my site and you’re into stuff about self-awareness and all that, have a look. I am very, very good at what I do and I get a lot out of connecting with people this way, helping them find their life path etc.

Connecting With Self by Karen Murphy

Yes, I am a victim. Although I often decry the victim mentality that’s so prevalent these days, I am one myself now.

Because the “high-speed internet” promised on the website of the hotel we stayed at this past weekend? Was possibly the Slowest Internet Ever, worse even than the 14.4 kbps dialup we all used to have. (Remember those days? And it all seemed so new?)

So I am catching up on 5 days of Unintentionally-Inflicted Internet Abuse.  Not to mention all the other abuses heaped upon us from our 4-night stay there, like the breakfast-that-wasn’t, the not-so-free-parking, or the fact that every other room in the hotel was occupied by college students convening in the hallways and in the room next door to ours.

Oh! My workshop in Tucson went wonderfully. The people there were all warm and lovely, and I couldn’t have had a nicer venue in which to teach people all about finding their personal power animals or connecting with their spiritual guides. And the best part was that I ate Mexican food every day. Every day! There was a little place down the street from the hotel where you could get two breakfast burritos, humongous things the size of a horse’s penis (thankfully I didn’t make this connection until just now while searching for an appropriate analagy; noticing that over the weekend would have made consuming one a very different experience) filled with scrambled eggs and ham and cheese and stuff and doused with two kinds of salsa, for $5. Five! Dollars!

And there were mountains all around, reddish rocky ones, and there was a hot tub under the stars. And channeling for all those wonderful warm people was like touching their souls, truly an honor.

So if you live in the southwest, I’ll be back there in Tucson doing this again. Soon. You can subscribe to my announcements!

The sad part: Matthew took a plane this past Monday that was pointed in one direction, and my plane was pointed in another. So I am fighting having to get used to the Matthew-shaped energetic hole left here. And everything else that goes along with that.

First! I have a new website! Well, not “new” exactly, but it looks completely different and has all kinds of great new stuff, so go! Take a look!

You should know, though, that when I say “I” made a new website, I really mean “Matthew” made a new website.  For me. Though I did a lot. Okay, he did a lot. We all know that. I am forever indebted. And I may never completely learn Joomla, and I have accepted that. I’ve moved on.  Don’t give it another thought.

So! Here I am in Atlanta! And when I say “Atlanta” I actually mean “the airport somewhere near the city of Atlanta,” because I am only here for three hours sucking electricity out through some holes in a column next to this rather uncomfortable blue vinyl seat while I (and when I say “I”, I mean “we”) await our next airplane, the one bound for Tucson where I am giving a metaphysical workshop for a group of people there this weekend.

And I also hear there is a pool. And it is something close to 80 degrees there. So after the workshops I am giving on connecting to your Power Animal and Learning to Channel and two group channeling demonstrations and personal channeling sessions, I will be ready to douse my fire in the pool. And then maybe the hot tub. And then some decent Mexican food, because there is none in all of Pennsylvania, and believe me I have checked.

And then after the workshop weekend Matthew and I will board separate planes bound in opposite directions, and I will come home to a very much more empty house.

And then the next chapter begins.

1. Evidently/apparently

2. Seriously/totally

3. Annoying/annoyed.

Evidently I am annoyed, like, a LOT. Seriously! Apparently I find that totally annoying.

By the way, it’s not like I haven’t been doing ANYTHING lately. I wrote about rest here. And here, I pine whine for balance. Whatever. Oh, and I had something to do with this piece on compassion. And if you’re going to read that, you should read this too, since it’s Part II.

Other than that, it’s been All Croup, All The Time around here. And Nathaniel consumed three chocolate-covered coffee beans yesterday afternoon before inquiring as to what it was he was eating, and was up AT LEAST until 1:30 last night. Er, this morning. And I am out of coffee, which as you can imagine is a Dire Situation, one that requires Immediate Correction. Oh, and today was Wacky Wednesday at Serena’s school and she went to school with her hair in three ponytails, one hanging down over her face and two with pencils stuck in them.

And then she asked if anyone would notice.

It’s kind of funny to discover after years and years that you’re apparently incapable of really resting. It turns out, though, and it’s odd I never noticed this until recently, that I pretty much all the time hold myself in a constant state of tension, of contraction, of defense.

You’d think such a thing would be noticeable, you know? That like ALL my muscles are constantly contracted?

It also explains my living on 4-5 hours sleep a night and the almost insatiable need to Just.Keep.Going.

Well, apparently I’ve had enough.

I first noticed this on my working/vacation in October. The one I still haven’t really posted about, oh, except for this and this and this and this and this. Um, so I guess I did sort of post about it. Whatever. But what I didn’t mention was that while I was there I was really, really, really tired. More so than usual. Even when sleeping in for days at a time for the first time in years and years; in fact, that seemed to almost make things worse. It was like something was telling me slow down.

Yes. Well. That feeling seems to have followed me, as if I am looking for rest, looking to finally unburden myself and just BE.

So we’ve been talking about True Rest recently, Matthew and me. This is a metaphysical-ish concept that’s talked about in the Michael teachings stuff and a lot of people are interested in knowing their own True Rest, True Play, True Study, and True Work. Often that’s the sort of thing I channel for people, and I think it’s useful in getting to know yourself and allowing the True You to come out a bit more, you know?

And I figured out this week what mine is, one of them, anyway. It has to do with watching the patterns light makes, form and shape and whatnot. Like watching the shadows made on a wall by the sun coming through miniblinds. Just observing them, looking at them. For me, it’s restful.

There’s much more about rest and what it is, what it does for you, at this wiki site about channeling. I found it fascinating. (Um, maybe because it’s my work, whatever. But it’s still good stuff, so do have a look! Plus there’s more channeling there too, with more added all the time)

There’s a new post up today over at Work It, Mom! You are checking there regularly, aren’t you? Because I am brilliant, of course.

So yesterday was Christmas, in case anyone didn’t notice. I think it would be difficult in this society, even if one did not actually celebrate the holiday, to be completely oblivious to it; it’s so pervasive anymore.

Anyway, the kids got lightsabers. And one got a laptop. And one got a clock. And one got blocks that stick together. I’ll leave it up to you to determine who got what. Matthew and I didn’t exchange gifts, as in the weeks preceding his visit here he wasn’t exactly in a shopping mode, and I was too paralyzed by possible awkwardness to even put thought to it, but the past ten days have been a gift in themselves as far as I’m concerned, and Santa did leave a bit of chocolate in his stocking, so I think all the bases were well covered.

So I hope you had a decent holiday, however it was spent. I seem to be feeling I’m in a bit of stasis, waiting for something to happen, though I still don’t quite know what. It’s a little exciting and a little frightening both, knowing it’s an interesting story but not knowing yet what the ending is like. Don’t you love these tantalizing tidbits? Whatever could be I talking about??

Update: For a bit of Matthew’s brilliance, go here.

I’ve been working on this new gig at Work It, Mom! for months now, talking about what sort of space to offer there, fine-tuning the details.  In the end we decided to opt for something that will change ultimately, rather than waiting for that change to take place first, and I couldn’t be happier. I love being part of something new, being part of change.

Anyway, if you’re not familiar with this site you might want to head over there!  Aimed at working moms, it’s a fast-growing social-networking site that has a welcoming feel.  There’s a variety of blogs there from some familiar faces on a whole bunch of topics, plus there’s a ton of articles, interviews etc.  One part I like is a section that you can personalize and chronicle your days or your feelings, etc., and the whole thing really is a nice community. So go! Join!

And my part is a twice-weekly blog about spiritual stuff, a place to relax and unwind, etc.  I’ll be offering ways to de-stress blah blah blah and we’ll all just go on this wonderful journey together, so do have a look!

I’m pretty sure the photo says it all.

Oh! New post and podcast up at Loving Awareness! You’ve heard of the Law of Attraction? Here’s a take on it that you may not have considered.

1. Not working.

2. Sleeping, except for the two phone calls and the doorbell-ring and the cat licking my hair that occurred while said sleeping was scheduled.

3. Sick.

4. I have become a Bravo-ho. It started with Top Chef, and once the habit is there it’s apparently hard to break. So right this minute I am Not Working while Project Runway, muted, flickers at me silently from the other side of the room. The choice of which is ironic because even though I own a kick-ass sewing machine, I can barely sew a seam that’s straight. Plus I wear the same clothing every day.

5. Talking to my dad, who is recovering from having some 200-pound thing fall on him. I think it was a bundle of shingles or something. He’s 72. Not sure why he was roofing, but there you go.

6. Newish post up at Loving Awareness (and have a look at the Quote Rotator!).

7. New gig! Debuts next week! Plus! The Parentricity link works now! And I have some posts up there!