I hope everyone has had a relaxing holiday season! It's hard to believe we're already in 2021. It literally feels like Corliss and I were in Chicago a few months ago, but it's basically been an entire year (we went in the middle of January 2020); time sure is flying. It feels surreal. I hope everyone enjoyed New Year's as well as the full moon we had right before the new year! Make sure you're taking care of yourself, finding time to breathe, rest, and relax. 2020 was a rather intense year for many of us, and we need to ensure we prioritize our wellbeing with self-care. The first Goddess Provisions box of 2021 arrived, and I was super excited for my new goodies!
It's been extra cold here this week, resulting in fluffy cat wanting to snuggle up with me in bed and by the fire. I honestly don't blame her. We had the first snow of the year this week as well as an ice storm (I woke up to find all the trees, cars, etc. covered in ice; it was quite the beautiful winter scene, but I was extremely grateful that I did not have to leave the house that day).
This week I hung out the boy I've been helping with online school as well as his brother; they were super excited for winter break. His brother was keen on assembling his massive Lego pirate ship set while he wanted to use the new VR set. They also got this massive gummy worm (which April noted that it would be more accurate to call it a gummy snake lol).
The boys wanted to catch up with me, discussing Pokemon, games, abridged series, and anime. They found the clips from InuYasha Abridged and the "sit boy" compilation rather humorous (for instance the "yee" scene and the Meowmix scene).
Kaede: Pray thee, yee be here in yon village of InuYasha, and what have yee come forth to see?
Kagome: ... Yes.
Kaede: And in such a case, yee see now that that tree be thee demise, and forth hence your own eyes and very being are in danger! Believe thee hence.
Kagome: Of course.
Kaede: Yee?
Kagome: Yee!
Kaede: YEE?
Kagome: YEE!
Kaede: Alright, she's cool. Sorry, child. I find it best to just say a bunch of vowel-y words and let them think yee are doing priestess things. So just what were yee doing in the forest of InuYasha?
Kagome: The forest of InuYasha?
Kaede: Yes, the forest of InuYasha, which lays on the outskirts of our town of InuYasha here in the district of InuYasha. Within the forest there is sealed the demon whose name we do not speak.
Kagome: InuYasha?
Kaede: How ever did yee discern his identity?
Kagome: What word am I even supposed to use? Uh... Meowmix!
InuYasha: What the hell is Meowmix?
Kagome: It's uh... cat food. Cuz you're a cat!
InuYasha: I'm a dog demon, you idiot!
Kagome: Ohhh..... Well, I guess I could change it to something more appropriate.
*later*
Kagome: Hey!
InuYasha: What do you want, new Kikyo? We're talking about old Kikyo.
Kagome: Sit, boy.
InuYasha: That fits way better! THANK YOU!
Kagome: You're welcome!
While playing Fortnite, they had me go into in-depth conversations about Death Note and InuYasha. We discussed the concepts of justice, morals, the right to decide a death sentence, whether ends justify the means, and the "God complex" with Death Note (I didn't go into all the details because Death Note gets pretty intense, but the overall premise of the show made them stop and reflect; originally, they sided with Light when I first started explaining the overall theme/story of Death Note, but by the end of the discussion they were unsure whether Light was "right"). Since we had watched clips from InuYasha Abridged and a "sit boy" compilation, they wanted to know more about the story of InuYasha. A lot of the discussion focused on Sesshomaru (which I was okay with since he's my favorite character). We discussed Sesshomaru's character arc, his strengths, his obstacles, the desire to possess a strong sword/fang, the rivalry with InuYasha, etc. They thought the latest Mew & Mewtwo comic drama video (especially Goh's cameo).
Here are the most recent Perler bead/fuse bead creations. The boys I watched this week requested a Santa hat Jack Skellington to add to their collection. I also worked on trying some more 3D projects (the gingerbread house is pretty neat, but it is rather time consuming lol). If you have any suggestions for future projects, I'd love to hear them!
I spent time relaxing with anime and fanfic this week. This week's fanfic includes: Crescent Moon, You're in My Army Now, Realisations, The Confessions, Faded Memories, and Dramatic! Corliss recommended Shonen Maid this week. I wasn't sure what to expect (I thought perhaps it would be somewhat similar to Maid-sama but that was merely a possibility). We adore this anime! It made me want to read the manga because 12 episodes is not enough. Madoka and Chihiro are freaking adorable! Frankly, I want an uncle like Madoka because it seems like it'd be so much fun. Plus, he understand the cat love despite allergies; my allergies aren't severe, but I want to be surrounded by fluffy cats always (but allergies complicate things). Shonen Maid gave us Fruits Basket vibes; Chihiro is a younger, boy-version of Tohru (100%), and Madoka gave us Shigure vibes (but more from the original anime). We love all of these characters, and honestly, I just want to hug them. They need hugs. They need friendship, love, and support so they can heal (like many people). Chihiro's advice from his mom felt like a message from the universe; Chihiro affirms, "You should never betray yourself. Sometimes in life compromise is necessary, but don't do anything that goes against your heart, so Mom said. There's only one way to fail, and that's giving up before you've tried." It felt like it's the overall theme for 2021; 2020 was crazy, but we need to give 2021 our all, embodying our authentic selves and not giving into the fear of failure.
I was able to finish giving out gifts this week! I finally was able to get together with Corliss to catch up and share gifts! In years past I would have been a bit bothered by how long it took to give out all the gifts (I was raised to be a very time-conscientious/timely person, and back in college it was drilled into me by my education courses that "if you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, that's unacceptable."), but I've come to the conclusion that the timing isn't what is ultimately important. The gifts are a physical representation of my gratitude and appreciation, a gesture to convey my thanks for a meaningful year spent together and for all the years to come. If that is my goal, then it doesn't matter if the recipient receives said gift on a holiday or before it or afterwards. The gratitude and sentiment are most important. Corliss and I ended up mostly talking. We discussed plans/intentions for the new year and future projects, recent anime we watched (a good portion was spent in adoration of Shonen Maid, but then we went back to gushing about longtime favorites like InuYasha, Fruits Basket, and Bleach), manga/books we've enjoyed, the inner work/healing we've been working on, general developments in life, etc. It's so easy to talk with her. We're a couple of odd ducks, but we always have a great time! Time really is an illusion because before we knew it it was after midnight. Like usual, we intended to go our separate ways at a "decent" (as in earlier) hour, but hours passed in a blink of an eye. One of the last things Corliss brought up was steamed buns (and acting like there was an invisible portal/door that would open up to an onsen and favorite anime characters lol). When I finally started making my way home, it was 12:34 (ascending numbers, whoop-whoop! We kept seeing them all night). I stayed out much later than anticipated, but I don't regret a thing. I kept Chihiro/Chihiro's mother's advice in mind and didn't betray my heart; my heart wanted to spend quality time with my soul sister, and that's exactly what I did. I hope everyone has been able to do the same! We don't have to give in to fear (fear is just false evidence appearing real after all). 2021 is a new year and a new opportunity for us to continue growing, to become our best authentic selves. Let's make the most of each moment; if 2020 was any indicator, time is going to keep flying by. Let's not let our lives slip away from us; let's live a life we adore, one we savor and can't wait to experience--we're the stars of our own stories after all! I doubt all the challenges and issues of 2020 will magically go away in the blink of an eye, but that doesn't mean we have to be miserable. The universe works in our favor and has our backs. There's so much love and abundance out there; we just need to let it in. Take care of yourselves; we've been through so much in the last year. Make your wellbeing a priority. Stay blessed with love and light, everyone~
More food for thought from Ralph Smart:
Here's some food for thought for the week:
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