I hope everyone enjoyed the full moon this week and the partial lunar eclipse! This lunar eclipse was the longest lunar eclipse since around 1400, which is pretty neat. Did anyone witness it? I considered staying up to see it, but considering how it was going to take place around midnight for me and since before care starts at 6:15 am, I decided against it. I'd be doing myself and the kiddos a disservice. It's still super cool that this happened. Here's some videos below with more information and a meditation for the recent full moon if you're interested.
I did not want to get up on Monday morning and ended up going back to sleep; thankfully, it was only for about 15 minutes, so I wasn't late for work. My dream was kind of all over the place. The first thing I remembered was Corliss and I were in a car. I didn't recall who was driving. Corliss noticed that the tires needed more air. We pulled over to fill up the tires. Corliss seemed to have no idea what she was doing and then started trying to inflate some two-person innertubes from the local pool's lazy river. She seemed to have no idea that the innertubes had holes in them, and the innertubes would only get so full while releasing a bunch of air through the holes. I pointed out that there were a bunch of holes in them and started showing her how it works, fixing the tires. I think I got a bit frustrated because there was something I had wanted to do, but the whole tire (and innertube) fiasco took so long. There was some other part where I was with the boys I babysit. I think I was supposed to take them to school before going to school myself; I was going to the high school, but I couldn't tell upon waking if I was supposed to work there or attend the school as a student. It was pretty hazy. There was another part where Tsuki was running around on the porch, but this part was veiled in a fog upon waking up, too. That's all I could remember even though I know more happened in the dream.
My dreams were veiled in a thick fog when I woke up on Tuesday morning. I knew a lot happened, but I couldn't remember anything. My dream was a bit hazy from Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. It was sort of like I was at a school. This group of friends was separated into like different dorm rooms between two different buildings. Most of the friends were paired up with one of the friend group, but one of them was all alone and put in a room far from everyone else. I remember going to like "lunch period." Most of the people were in the main eating area, but I was with a small group to the side. One of the students had this massive bag of Goldfish and ate most of the bag, which consisted of something like 852 crackers. One of the small group found some teddy bear, and they started making fun of whoever would bring a teddy bear to school. No one knew who's teddy bear it was, but it was one of the other members of the group. They were really embarrassed and wanted to covertly get the teddy bear back. They exuded a calm demeanor, but they were freaking out on the inside, almost in a panic. Most of the small group left to join the rest of the students in what I presume was the cafeteria (but it looked sort of like a cross between my kitchen/dining room area and a school cafeteria). The lunch lady got royally ticked off at the students in the cafeteria because they started some massive food fight. I had stayed in the other room because it felt like too much energy, noise, and chaos (and I decided this before they started the food fight). The lunch lady was cracking down on all the students and saw me in the other room. She apparently knew me by name and was more or less telling the other kids to be like me: quiet and calm. She encouraged me not to get caught up in their mess; I told her I had no intention of getting involved, that I preferred it where it was tranquil and quiet. She then started talking about bringing like a pillow to school so I could sleep later since it would do me some good. This got me to tear up a bit, but I didn't remember why.
I woke up on Thursday morning kind of out of it and wanting to stay snuggled up in bed. I didn't remember much from my dream, but there was some person that was kind of like Shippo, or at least they were wearing a shirt somewhat like his. Instead of the leaves that are normally on the shirt, though, there was a repeating motif of the Sagittarius archer instead. I'm not sure why this person was there in my dream or what they were doing--everything was pretty hazy. More happened in the dream, but it was too murky to recall.
I woke up Friday morning recalling two main parts of my dream. The first involved Melody, Ariel's daughter. She was excited to become a mermaid and planned on saving her mom. Apparently, Ariel was kidnapped by the shark from The Little Mermaid 2. Melody was pumped to save her mom, but when she turned into a mermaid, she wasn't prepared for the difference between her human body and the mermaid one. She had anticipated swimming a lot faster but wasn't used to using the new body, making her a lot slower than necessary to save her mom. The shark laughed at her, kidnapping Ariel. Melody was all bummed out and went topside. She was moping on the ice. The one penguin from the 2nd movie was basically giving her a pep talk, giving her the motivation necessary to save her mom. The shark came back to basically taunt them. Whenever he got out of the water (i.e. to try and get them) he'd shrink but grow back to his normal, massive size when in the water. More probably happened, but the next thing I remembered involved Chibi Moon. Things were going on, but the specifics were hazy. Apparently, she was pregnant with half pegasus babies (I'd presume Helios was the father). She had been time traveling and mentioned that she saw Helios three other times before becoming pregnant, so I guess she was trying to figure out when she'd see him next? Not entirely sure. There was some other part of my dream that sort of involved before/after care with various coworkers from my different jobs, but it was super hazy, leaving me with a muddled recollection.
I remembered two parts from my dream when I woke up on Saturday morning. The first part I was at the preschool with the Eagle class. Another class was joining the Eagles. The teachers wanted the kids to soar, but this one boy wanted to "ride a shark." The teachers weren't all that keen on the idea because that wasn't flying. I pointed out that he could have the shark "swim" in the sky so they were "flying," and they found the idea acceptable. In the other part I was in like a forest. Suddenly this dragon appeared. It's color scheme was similar to Spyro, but it looked more like Maleficent's dragon in appearance. It started taking out all this bamboo and trees, trying to find a person. Somehow, they escaped the dragon. The person kind of looked like the guy off of Demon Slayer (Gin?). I ended up getting to this mansion like building in the middle of the forest. Time passed, and lots of people resided in the mansion. Apparently, it belonged to me. There was a big hubbub going on. I had apparently been away for a bit, so I wanted to know what the deal was. Nobody would tell me; they kept avoiding saying what happened. It didn't seem like a good thing. There was going to be like some press conference out front. When I had gotten back to the mansion building, there had been a lot of security, people posted at like checkpoints (although they all seemed to be asleep), entrances locked, etc. I got passed it all with no problem. I went to search for what I guess was my assistant. I knew they would tell me the truth. As I searched for the assistant in the huge mansion, I tried to see if I could get any clues from talking to other people. I probably talked to like 50 people, and no one would divulge anything. Finally, I found my assistant. He seemed very similar to Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss. He was reluctant to tell me, but it was because he didn't want to upset me. After hesitating for a little bit, he revealed that something had happened to one of the little girls in the mansion (she seemed like Rin from InuYasha). This did not sit well with me, and that's why he had been reluctant to tell me because he knew how much I loved the kids. More might have happened, but that's all I remember since I woke up.
I know Corliss was in my dream from Saturday night/Sunday morning, but the dream itself was pretty hazy. There was travel at one point. I think I rode a plane. I'm not sure where I was going. I think I met up with Corliss, but I'm not sure what we were intending to do. I think there were also Pokémon cards involved, but I think that was with other people--I don't think Corliss had any. Maybe we were going to get food? The details are all fuzzy.
I've debated whether to dabble in crypto currency or not. I hear pros and cons from both sides. My brother has been investing in it, the parents of some of the kids I babysit have played with it, and it seems like a lot of people online are switching to crypto. I'm not sure whether I'll use it profusely or not, but I decided to try it out. I haven't invested any money yet, but if you join this crypto site, you get $25 for free. If you'd like to get $25 for free, feel free to use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/g6q3t9rp8q.Let me know your thoughts on crypto; as it's a form of currency, I believe that it is ultimately neutral--it's a tool or resource, and people's intentions dictate whether it's used for "good" or "bad." I'm open to learning more about it, though. It feels like currency is going to change, so maybe crypto is the way of the future. Maybe we'll get rid of currency all together and go to some sort of barter system. Who knows; the future is full of possibilities.
I had fun in before care this week. My art buddy wanted to chat about crazy, little Tsuki and what she's been up to--she's always so surprised by Tsuki's antics but finds them utterly hilarious. My art buddy was trying to cuddle me Monday morning; I believe it was partially due to the cold, partially due to her wanting to stay in bed, and partially because she just likes me. She's always following me around and looking at me with these eyes filled with adoration. She keeps telling me she loves me, too. She's adorable. As we were doing a coloring challenge (a couple of the kids decided that everyone present would participate in a challenge where we all colored the same coloring sheet and could only use 4 colored pencils), she got up to my ear and whispered, "I love you!" It was too cute. It was interesting observing their judging process; two of the kids decided they were judges, but they didn't agree on who would win. The older of the two girls wanted to award me the winner, but the younger of the two wanted to award her friend as the winner. They got into a bit of an argument over it. The younger scored mine 10/10 while the friend's was scored 10/100, thinking that since 100 was larger that meant that she was the winner. I wasn't upset that she wanted her friend to win, but I pointed out that the score her friend got was rather low while mine was a perfect score. The younger judge got a bit miffed and changed it to 100/100 and then made us do rock, paper, scissors to decide the winner. I ended up winning without trying; I didn't even think about what to do--I just acted and threw out scissors while her friend played paper. I don't think the younger judge liked the outcome. The older judge was happy because she felt that the winner should be whoever did the best picture, not just because someone was your friend. I understood her frustrations, but it didn't bother me; I just enjoyed coloring that morning, as it was super relaxing. I started coloring a dragon in rainbow colors and a couple of wolves later in the week, too. The kids were blown away by my coloring and wanted to duplicate my efforts on their own. One of the girls decided to make a kitty paper airplane, which I thought was cool. When we went out on the playground one morning, one of the boys found a box and started punching it into oblivion. He almost treated it like a piñata and ended up breaking it into many, small pieces. As it kept him occupied and out of trouble, we were fine with it.
I got into a deep discussion about boundaries and setting limits with my coworker; he's getting burned out between his various jobs, and his bandmates want him to keep driving 2 hours out to practice with them every week when they don't have any gigs until March. He told me that he hates telling people "no" and doesn't want to let anyone down. I pointed out that saying "yes" to everything could lead to saying "no" to things you already said "yes" to because you don't have the energy to show up as your best self. You get burnt out, and then nobody wins. It's great to honor commitments, but you don't have to say "yes" to everything, especially if it's a "no" to yourself. I let him know that it was something I've been working on, so I'm not an expert by any means, but it's crucial to our wellbeing. I asked if it'd be possible to compromise and go every other week (besides the drain on his energy, it's also been putting a considerable dent into his finances with all the driving and cutting hours he could be teaching guitar lessons). He said he would give it a shot, so hopefully he'll learn to advocate for himself. I understand that it's difficult for them to find someone to replace him since it's a small town, so he doesn't want to leave them hanging. The thing is, history will repeat itself. He admitted that he had stayed at his last job for years longer than he should have because he didn't want to leave his boss hanging, certain that his boss wouldn't be able to find a replacement. When he finally left, his boss was unable to find a replacement and ended up closing the route. While it sucks for his former boss, if something isn't right for you, it isn't right. You shouldn't force yourself to continue doing something, especially for years, when it's draining your vital lifeforce and making you miserable. I know he really enjoys his band, but if this continues, he won't have fun in it any longer. It'll become a chore, an obligation, rather than a passion or hobby. It'd be a shame for it to wither away and die, so hopefully he'll listen to his heart and body and do what's best. Ironically enough, the universe wouldn't let him go to band practice this week. He told me that on the drive down, his car overheated and stopped working. I saw the synchronicity and recognized it was no accident, doing my best to convey that to my coworker. I think he's starting to get the picture, but he still a bit hesitant to change, let go, and speak up for himself, setting a clear boundary. I know all too well what will happen if he doesn't establish healthy boundaries and provided the best advise I could; it's up to him now to make that choice, though. The universe allows for free will and has no qualms with providing the same lesson in different forms until we finally pass it.
It was a fun week of babysitting! The boys wanted updates on what was happening in YashaHime; they always seem interested in learning about the story. We also got into a deep conversation about the plot of Pokemon The First Movie. I love how chill spending the afternoon with them is. We always have fun. The older of the two was showing me his Lego train set he was building; it looked pretty cool. When I picked up the older brother from school on Monday, he asked if Iris had a nice birthday and enjoyed her presents (since her birthday was the day before). I chatted with him about Iris's birthday for a bit before he moved the conversation to his upcoming birthday.
Him: "You know, since we're friends, you could get me something for my birthday."
Me: "I already did."
Him: "You did?"
Me: "Yes, I know when your birthday is. It's on Saturday."
Him: "Cool! What did you get me?"
Me: "I can't tell you; it's supposed to be a surprise."
Him: "Oh, right. Well, you might want to mail it to my house on Saturday."
Me: "Or I could give it to you on Thursday when I pick you up from school since your mom is off on Friday."
Him: "That works, too."
Seriously, these kids crack me up. Trying to be all slick, like "Nudge, nudge, my birthday's coming up, so you could get me presents." 🤣 Considering how I got him birthday presents last year and considering we were talking about how close his birthday was to Iris's birthday, he really shouldn't have been that surprised that I already had his presents covered. I love kids; working with them is the best (lol). He enjoyed the presents I got/made for him and got a kick out of the bag I drew for him (he adores The Nightmare Before Christmas).
When Corliss and I were hanging out over the weekend, she mentioned how much her niece, Harper, has been into building with Legos lately. Corliss lamented that they didn't have very many. I gathered a bunch of the Legos I had gotten several years ago from when I had a certain project in mind (that has yet to come to fruition); I gave them to Corliss since they had been sitting at my house without being touched. Corliss was excited to give them to Harper. Corliss told me Harper's reaction when she found the Legos while inspecting her toys.
Harper: "Who's Legos are these?"
Corliss: "Jess let us have them to play with."
Harper: "So she KNOWS I love Legos?:
Corliss: "I informed her."
Harper: "Ohh. Well, I wanna play with them."
Corliss: "Then you should."
*Haper opens the packages, telling Corliss what she's about to build, talking fast, and ripping even faster. Suddenly she just stops*
Harper: "Can you tell Jess thank you and I love her?"
Corliss: "I'll make sure to inform her, I love her too."
Harper: "She's the best!"
Corliss: "I agree."
It truly warmed my heart; I felt so loved, and I was so glad that she appreciated the Legos. It was the right call to give them away to Corliss and Harper; there's no point to keep them at my place to collect dust (lol). I figured Harper would be excited, but it's always great to have confirmation. I appreciate Harper's enthusiasm, and hope she has many hours of fun play with all her new Legos!
Tsuki's been a cute, snuggly, cuddle buddy lately with all of the colder weather. We enjoyed chilling together while I watched anime, read, wrote, etc. Tsuki also tried stealing the birthday bag I made for one of the boys I babysit--she kept trying to chew on the handle and run off with it. Such a nut. She enjoyed hanging out and playing in boxes, too. It's been a rather chill week, and we both enjoyed it.
I received a new deck this week, Osho's Zen Tarot. It looks so pretty. I also got some new InuYasha goodies: a Sesshomaru pin and a flower bag. I'm excited for the new goodies!
Art for this week included more Perler bead projects and some gifts:
I'm excited for the new Sword Art Online movie! The boys I babysit were asking if I planned on going to see it, and it looks awesome! I watched the trailer this week, and it got me hyped.
I enjoyed writing, reading, and watching anime with Tsuki this week. Here's my newest story: Origins of the Queen of the Sea. I was chatting with my art buddy in before care one morning, and she brought up this character she called the "Queen of the Sea." I found the premise really interesting and decided to bring her idea to life in more detail. Kids are incredible; they're so creative and full of imagination. I hope she never loses her creativity. I know plenty of people would have told her that her idea for the Queen of the Sea didn't make sense (a squid from the sun that gets turned into an octopus is certainly unique), but I enjoyed it. It was unexpected and original. Thanks for the inspiration, art buddy! It's always fun creating in the morning with you! Feel free to read this short story and share your thoughts! I'm also open to suggestions and recommendations for future stories! I have other pieces in the works (several additional ones are inspired by the interactions I've had with children lately), so stay tuned for more stories! Fanfic for this week included: Heartless, Demonheart, Forget Me Not, Imagine, Only Drunks and Children, Falling Stars, The Wish: A Falling Stars Sidestory, Deceiving Even Shadows, and Karma. I watched the newest episode of YashaHime this week, and the story keeps getting more intriguing! Turns out Takechiyo has a younger brother ruling the clan. Go figure. The brother's advisor (or whatever he is) seems like he is manipulating and pulling strings behind the scenes. His character seems super sketchy. I don't trust him. The village up north, or at least the headman, seems questionable, too. As soon as I saw him, he seemed like he was hiding things. Deities rarely attack for no reason after all. I'm thinking that the village might have stolen that blessed 5 grains thing. Maybe it belonged to the deity or someone he knew. The preview made it seem like a girl/woman is involved somehow. I'm interested in seeing how they continue things. Since it was confirmed that Setsuna and Towa can see Akuru on top of Sesshomaru (and Jaken), it makes me wonder if Toga was able to see him, as well, or if their line can see him due to Sesshomaru's mother--Kirinmaru did make a remark about their clan being the ones that can see Akuru. Kirinmaru, Rion, and Riku weren't able to see Akuru, so it's obvious that Kirinmaru would need help finding Akuru. I wonder what requirements there are for being able to see him--like, is it just the fact that Towa and Setsuna are of Sesshomaru's bloodline or do they need certain personal traits, too? I keep getting more and more questions, but I'm not particularly bothered by that fact. I eagerly look forward to seeing how they continue the story next week! Plus, I really enjoyed Riku's insight; he was really chill about his injury and then dropped this truth bomb on everyone: "There are times when being able to see could make you overlook the truth." It's deep and so true. Sometimes we rely so heavily on what we see, or what we perceive to see, that we misinterpret the truth.
I also watched My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X this week, and I loved it! I eagerly anticipate seeing how they continue the story next! I enjoy so many of the characters, but I think Geoffrey Stuart is probably my favorite. He's giving me total Ayame vibes: complete and utter adoration for his younger brothers. Geoffrey went so far as to have an entire wall covered in their portraits. It's super cute. He didn't have much screen time, but he captured my full attention each time he was on screen. He's so freaking pure that my heart squeals for joy. I love him so. I also enjoyed the new addition of Sora. Sora and Catarina have great chemistry together (although, you could argue that about Catarina with many of the characters--she's so sweet, pure, and innocent since her walk-in took over). Catarina, hearing about how Sora's traveled to different countries, remarks how she'd love to travel abroad with him. Sora comments, "That's a nice thought, but I don't see that happening--just given that we're from different worlds, I mean." This confuses Catarina profusely. Perplexed, she inquires, "Different worlds? What do you mean? You're sitting in front of me right now, aren't you? We're talking and eating dinner together, aren't we? I'm pretty sure we're in the same world." I have to agree with her assessment (although I understand the point Sora was trying to make--there's a class difference between Catarina being raised from nobility and Sora growing up in the slums). Sora, amused with Catarina's sincere reaction, laughs and concedes, "That's as good a point as any. Alright, it's a deal. I'll take you with." Catarina then exclaims, "Alright! Traveling buddies! Promise then--you gotta give me a pinky swear!" This scene illustrates how our perceptions (what we see) can lead us to overlook the truth. The two of them were sitting together in the same room, sharing a meal, despite their "class differences"--no matter if they were from "different worlds," they still ultimately shared the same world. Sora's perceptions shot down any possibilities before they were even given a chance due to his misinterpretation of the truth. While many would believe class differences to be too great an obstacle to overcome, they're just labels. Granted, these labels will often lead to people having different experiences and upbringings, but that doesn't mean that they can't interact. Everyone still shares planet Earth as their home. We shouldn't sell ourselves short, writing ourselves off as being disillusioned, before we even give ourselves a shot. We'd be surprised what we can accomplish when we give ourselves the chance.
Things are changing quite rapidly nowadays. The current energies aren't allowing us to be inauthentic. They are pushing us to speak our truth and be genuine in all that we do. If we choose not to and fall back on old habits, things are blowing up in our faces. Conversations with others this week have confirmed this observation many times over. It's a learning process, though. It's easy enough to talk the talk, but walking the walk can sometimes prove a bit tricky. I wish everyone the best of luck as we navigate these unusual times. They're not the easiest times to live in, but once we make it to the other side, we will be so grateful that we made the journey. This trek may be long and challenging, but the end results will be worthwhile. Remember to breathe, relax, and take things at your own pace. What works for someone else may not work best for you. It's okay to choose what's best for you. Find the solution that fits you best; there's no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for everyone. Laugh, follow your joy, listen to your heart, and speak your truth. Things will work out in the end, but they may not take the form we originally anticipate. The universe loves us and will always give us exactly what we need. Rest easy, stay warm, and stay blessed with love and light, everyone~
Food for thought from Ralph Smart on Infinite Waters:
Some food for thought to consider for the week:
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