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Writer's pictureJessica

Snowy, Winter Wonderland

It was the first heavy snowfall of the season (and year). There had been some snowfall earlier this winter, but it was more of a dusting. On Saturday there was constant snowfall, resulting in snow piling up everywhere. It looked so pristine and gorgeous. I was grateful I didn't have anywhere I was supposed to be; I'd rather not disturb all the pure white and rather not drive in it. Wintery roads can be a bit nerve-wracking at times with all the slipping and sliding. I was able to stay cuddled up indoors with Tsuki, and it was quite relaxing!


I woke up Monday morning wanting to stay snuggled in bed; I remembered one main part of my dream, although I think there was something about Miraculous and my brother that lives in Colorado (like my family was planning on visiting him?). There was something about 20th birthdays being significant. There was a school setting. I was in a small group of students/friends (I didn't recognize them upon waking but seemed to know them in the dream). We were out by the track, and someone threw out a challenge to see who could run a lap the fastest. Two of the people started riding a bike, which they tried to claim they won, but we pointed out that it was cheating. We were heading back towards the school, and once inside weirdness started happening. It was sort of like a time-lapse, where the past and present blended. It sort of seemed like someone was possessed/remembering past life stuff. It got kind of hazy, but it was almost like the person got akumatized; they were freaking out and started attacking everyone. The rest of my group of friends disappeared, and I was kind of held hostage, the person trying to cut me with a knife while I tried to talk sense into them. Some spirit type being that seemed to be my group's friend appeared; it seemed like my friend group went to get him. The spirit-like being was not happy at all by the turn of events and was extremely protective of the group, so he kind of went into battle with the individual. The spirit defeated the possession type thing, getting things to turn back to normal. It almost seemed like it caused the spirit to "die," although it seemed like a game because it was going to come back to life. More happened, but the specifics got murky. I felt like other significant things happened before this part of the dream, but I couldn't remember it upon waking.


My dream was kind of hazy when I woke up Tuesday morning. From what I could remember the boys I babysit regularly had found a puppy and snuck it home without other people knowing. They were insistent on taking care of the puppy but weren't really sure how would be the best way to do so since it was so young. They didn't want their parents to find out (not sure how well that would have worked out for them or how they planned to hide a puppy). They wanted to do something (maybe like set up some kind of go cart racetrack in their backyard), but they hadn't realized they would be unable to do so with the puppy. A lot more happened in my dream, but the only other thing I could recall upon waking was that I had gotten together with my mom's side of the family for some reason and that my mom was talking about how this person named Jack wanted to get me some kind of gift. I had tried to figure out who she was referring to with the first several guesses being incorrect (I was completely thrown off when she said that this person wanted to give me a gift, not sure who they were or why they wanted to do so). After multiple guesses, it turned out to be one of the younger employees at her job that's around my age range and that the whole reason he wanted to give me a gift was because my mom had been talking to him about me, trying to set the two of us up to date (never seen or met the guy in real life, for the record, so I don't have an opinion on the matter). Everything else was foggy, so I wasn't sure where the dream went from there.


I really struggled getting up Wednesday morning; I honestly just wanted to stay in bed. I didn't remember everything from my dream, but what I did recall was themed around InuYasha. The first thing I could remember was being at a store (maybe Target) and wandering down the aisles. I got to the video game aisle and stopped dead in my tracks. There was a space reserved/promoting an upcoming InuYasha game for the Switch. According to the promotion, it was supposed to come out in November of this year. I grew incredibly excited, but it felt like it would take forever to get to the release date. I started taking pictures so I could share it with Corliss because I knew she would want to know. More happened, but it got hazy. Another part of my dream involved InuYasha characters. Sesshomaru and Jaken were traveling--it was something about finding a way to change the way Jaken could see, as apparently he could only see like one color (yellow maybe?), and they were attempting to give him night vision or something. Whatever their goal was seemed important (maybe changing his sight would help them accomplish something). There was another part invovlving Kagome, Kikyo, and InuYasha. This part was kind of fuzzy, too, but this building-type thing kind of descended into this like crater, causing Kagome to become alarmed. Kikyo told Kagome that she should go down there to help, saying that she would go down if she could but that she couldn't (as soon as she reached a certain point, she would faze out of reality to materialize a little further back--it was like she was hitting some kind of barrier or something that made it impossible to go any farther). Kagome was determined to help because some people she cared about were down there, and she was worried about them. InuYasha appeared, and I think it was to help (but the details got incredibly hazy). I knew a lot more happened, but I couldn't remember anything else upon waking.


I could only remember parts of my dream upon waking on Thursday morning, although it felt like a lot happened in the dream realm. The first thing I could recall was Corliss coming by my house. We were playing with Tsuki and discussing things. I think one of my classmates from middle school was there, but it was a bit hazy. Somehow we got to talking about what the future will look like, and I brought up that cafes would look different, that it would be a more kind and trusting world where people could come up to your house to get drinks and whatnot. Corliss loved the idea but seemed skeptical (I think--the dream details were a bit murky). More happened, and there was something about me being involved with a school and a competition. I was the head of a class and/or team for the competition. One of the kids from the preschool was there, and he won a race. He was sad and missing his mom, though. I assured him that his mom would be back soon, and I asked him to tell me all about the race he won since I hadn't been able to witness it. He got really excited, cuddling with me, and told me that he was so fast it was done "like that" with a snap of his fingers. It was really cute. Although I knew a lot more happened in my dream, I couldn't remember more upon waking.


I woke up rather sleepily on Friday morning. The first thing I could remember from my dream is that Corliss, April, my sister, and maybe Iris were going on a trip. We all were getting fed up with our normal routines and decided to take a spontaneous vacation. I think we decided on Alabama/the beach. The rest of the details were foggy. There was another part of the dream where I was at Oberweis. I ordered a mint chocolate chip shake and wanted to order some kind of peppermint treat, too. Whatever it was, the employee said that they only had a peppermint and warm pumpkin spice ice cream at the time. I was thrown off because it didn't sound like the best combination. I'm pretty sure the employee got it for me anyway. April came in and got this huge pastry that they made in the oven especially for her. I think April's mom was there, too. More happened, but the last thing I could remember was meeting up with the mom of the boys I babysit regularly; she was worried about their school, as apparently they had started virtual school again. She was reviewing their schedule with me to ensure that things went smoothly and that they would be successful. At one point Tsuki showed up while we were waiting for the boys to get back from a walk with their dad. That's all I could remember upon waking, although I knew a lot more transpired in the dream realm.


My dream recall was kind of murky on Saturday morning, but what I could remember from the dream was centered around Miraculous. They traveled somewhere new (maybe for school). There was some guy who seemed like a ,ew student that was obsessed with Marinette, falling hard for her. Hawk Moth/Gabriel let himself get akumatized to shirk growing suspicion. Adrien and Marinette were being super cute together, and I'm pretty sure he gave her a ring as a gift. The new kid was helping Marinette/Ladybug save the day, but then his desire to help got twisted; he took off with one of the Miraculous and left for some other country without any warning. More happened, but I couldn't remember anything else upon waking.


My dream from Saturday night/Sunday morning was interesting. From what I remembered, it started off with some kind of competition, like a race. I was working on completing it when a kid ran off from a group that my aunt was supervising. This kid seemed to have special needs, and my aunt couldn't seem to get him to stop, so I went after him to stop. Eventually, he stopped, running over to one area with some trees. I remained with him until my aunt and the rest of the group got there because he didn't want to leave. Eventually, he was reunited with the group. I decided to leave because there didn't seem like much point trying to compete any longer. As I tried to go back to the exit/starting point there was a huge crowd of rowdy individuals. They started playing music crazy loud and thought it was the greatest thing. I found it extremely overwhelming. The music kept growing louder and louder, and the crowd kind of trapped me, although that's not what they were trying to do (they just seemed like they wanted to have a good time being rowdy). I ended up curling into a ball and crying because it became too much for me to handle. At some point I ended up at a table, talking to some boy that was alone. I think he also wanted to cheer me up. I didn't remember exactly what was said, but at one point there was a comment about something happening a year or two earlier. He also gave a gentle kiss to my hand at some point.


Somehow the dream transitioned to being at a house with a group of kids. It seemed to be like a school meeting type of thing, and at the time we were watching some kind of documentary where this guy traveled around interacting with all the different kinds of penguins. I ended up going into another room with the boy from before (he seemed to be like my brother at this point). Our teacher came in, who happened to be Cell from DBZ for whatever reason, insisting we play chess. He seemed to want us to play to the death. The boy and I didn't want to comply, but we played along until he left the room. We thought about hiding in the room, like under the beds, but the boy realized it would be pretty pointless, so we went to join the rest of the group. The rest of the group were starting to question Cell as a teacher, something just not sitting well with them. One of the other kids started messing with Cell's computer and projector, figuring out that he had incriminating evidence on them and trying to get it so he could share it. As the kid was acquiring it, Cell came back and was not happy to see what was transpiring, snatching the technology away from him. The other kids and I had been recording the whole thing, and Cell started beating up on the kid. He started threatening the kid, and with a cruel smile he started changing forms. He beat up on the kid. We were able to get help and get him removed from teaching/a position of power, but Cell had kind of gone on a rampage, beating up kids. I couldn't tell if the unfortunate victims were merely unconscious or no longer amongst the living. Whatever company or group Cell had been a part of apologized profusely and assured everyone that he had been terminated and that it would never happen again. It seemed like his life had been terminated because Cell started haunting the house. He was none too happy about how it played out, but he expressed wicked glee that none would be able to stop him or interfere now, allowing him to haunt and cause mayhem as he pleased. We ended up moving immediately because he had such a strong connection with the house. As we were traveling to the new home, a relative called, miffed that we didn't tell anyone we were moving. My parents informed them that they had been moved to a new worksite and that we were on our way to the new home as they spoke. They also mentioned our new home number, consisting mainly of all 7's, but there was a 5 and an 8, too. A few relatives came over to see the new house before I woke up.


The boys were excited to see me this week. As soon as I picked them up from school on Monday, they were asking me for their weekly update about YashaHime. You would think it was Christmas based off their excitement levels when I shared the news of Shippo making an appearance in the intro (and preview) and Moroha meeting up with Kagome (and sort of InuYasha) at the end of the episode. They've been waiting for Shippo's appearance and for Moroha to finally meet her parents/for Kagome and InuYasha to be freed for the longest. At least now they won't have to ask me any more (lol). They proceeded to look up the intro and preview to see for themselves (they really want to see Shippo in YashaHime). We got into a discussion about the InuYasha and YashaHime stories; they were curious why Shippo was asking about a Black Pearl. I pointed out that InuYasha, Kagome, and Sesshomaru went through the Black Pearl prior to Shippo meeting them, so he wouldn't know what the Black Pearl is or its significance. They also wanted to discuss Miya, Joe, and Cherry from SK8 the Infinity, having a good laugh at Miya's antics.


It was a fun week at before care. The kids had fun being silly with one of them giving a colored pencil a "bead crown." Said pencil was known as ruler of all pencils in the bead kingdom. We got to talking about Blue's Clues (I think because one of the girls commented that her favorite color was Magenta, which is the name of the pink dog from the show), which led to us discussing the songs from the show. We were talking about the "We Just Got A Letter" song, and one of the girls said we got a letter from a chicken. When I inquired about said letter from a chicken, she told me it was a "chicken letter." I tried asking which letter it was (trying to make a joke and be literal about it being a single letter as opposed to a written note--we were being very literal with our jokes Monday morning), she told me it just looked like a chicken letter. I asked if it was "C" because chicken starts with "C." They started laughing because they realized what I was getting at, but they told me it just looked like chicken scratch (lol). They also decided to construct a city/town with all the buildings being colored pencils. They were pretty focused on making the town/city grow, adding more and more colored pencils and standing each of them up; it looked pretty cool. They had us come up with a way to save the planet and also had us work on a collaborative art project that they turned into a book.


While in the gym my art buddy was telling me she was "a creature." She then proceeded to describe said creature, dubbing it "Zimbagala." Apparently, they resemble unicorns with the horn and horse body, but they also have wings like a Pegasus and sunflowers growing on their back. These sunflowers aren't just any sunflowers--they are home to the sunflower fairies. The sunflower fairies are friends with the Zimbagala and love to clean their teeth (she specified that they eat the food that's stuck in between their teeth). I wouldn't recommend getting close to the sunflower fairies, though, as she informed me that they bite. At first she told me that they bite if you're mean to them, but then she amended that they bite if you get too close to them. It certainly sounds like an interesting creature, but I wouldn't want to be bitten by any of their fairies (lol). She also came up with another creature later in the week, telling me she was a "Prikpreena." She informed me that the Prikpeena have wings, a horn, rainbow fur, sparkly eyes, and a crystal gem located on their forehead. My art buddy is quite the creative and imaginative individual. For the record, Prikpeena only say their name (much like a Pokémon, but she was adamant that they aren't Pokémon). They also love playing with balls, having me roll the ball back and forth with her across the gym floor. She definitely keeps things interesting.


My boss from before care requested I come in on Tuesday afternoons after babysitting because one of the regulars had class on Tuesday afternoons now. I wasn't sure about it, but she basically begged me to come in (they can't get any help). I figured that it wouldn't be too bad if it was only once a week. The kiddos from the morning were super excited to see me, rushing up to hug me and exclaiming my name enthusiastically. That was nice and warmed my heart. I walked into pure chaos, though; kids were racing around the cafeteria, screaming and smacking everyone with balloons. It was energetically intense. I wasn't prepared for it to be so... much. Sure, I expected it to have a higher energy level than in the morning, but it was drastically different. I was exhausted at the end of the 2 hours, and I was a bit reluctant to come back ever again. We'll see what next week and the following weeks turn out to be like. On the way home, I witnessed something peculiar. I'm not quite sure what I witnessed. There was something similar to a shooting star, but it wasn't. It lasted roughly 5 seconds, and it was incredibly bright. It looked kind of oval-ish or egg-shaped. It kind of reminded me of a meteorite. It was larger than any plane flying in the sky. It almost seemed like it was crashing. It zoomed across the sky diagonally towards the horizon. I wish I could have seen more, but my view became obscured by trees and houses I'd never seen anything quite like it before.


Corliss, April, Iris, and I met up and hung out on Sunday. We mainly just chatted and caught up on what's been happening with everyone. It was great seeing everyone and a lot of fun. I found some warm, fuzzy socks, some tie dye pants, and a new cat toy for Tsuki while we were out and about. Apparently, when we were at Raising Cane's the cashier was giving me intense, heated stares full of longing, or at least that's what Corliss told me. I didn't notice anything. She also told me that he kept calling my name when I only heard it once; she assured me that he only called everyone else once but that it was like he couldn't help continuing to say my name (she said that he didn't even wait 5 seconds between saying my name). I'll take her word for it. We tried Hot Box Cookies since April has raved about them for the longest, but Corliss and I found them rather lackluster. It was disappointing. Our expectations were rather high, thinking it would be at least somewhat similar to Insomnia, yet it was just meh. One of Corliss's cookies was hard. They were out of like all the cookies Corliss wanted to try, too, and it wasn't all that late. We're not sure if it's because it's a new location or what, but we aren't inclined to return to Hot Box Cookies. Corliss wanted to throw away all her cookies; in her words, "They're edible, and that's about all that can be said." It wasn't how we anticipated ending the evening, but it snowed on the way back home. Plus, we had a good time and got each other to laugh, so we didn't let it put a damper on our fun. I look forward to spending more quality time with them soon.


Tsuki was a goofy nut like usual. She climbed onto bags of Perler beads, finding it comfy, she tried to squeeze into the cat bed my mom bought her that was too small, she attacked me from underneath the blanket, she played with toys in her bed, she tried to climb walls, and so much more. Tsuki also loves to stare at people. I'll be minding my own business, usually reading on the couch, and she'll appear and continuously stare at me. She's such a peculiar, little kitty. She can be the physical embodiment of boundless energy; she chased bells all around the house, up and down the stairs, losing them everywhere. Luckily enough for her, I happened to find more bells at the store after weeks of them being sold out; I had been checking every time I was out, but they had been out of them for the longest. I had 80, and there's probably about 20 left that hadn't been lost. Tsuki's such a goof, but she's adorable; we love her so.


I got new goodies this week! I felt drawn to get a new bracelet, and it was my first time ordering from Evolve Mala. I love the colors of the bracelet, and I'd be happy to order from them again. I also got a new shirt from Yogaste. My newest goodies from Spiritual Supermall's Divine $9, too. There were energetically chosen crystal spheres and a free bracelet and moonstone pyramid. Hooray for goodies!


Art for this week included Perler bead projects:


I did more writing, reading, and anime watching this week. My newest story, Catnam, is based off a conversation I had with my younger cousin over the holidays; he was telling me all about how he was a veteran from "Catnam" and how he just wanted to sleep. He said it was awful, that Cat George the 3rd was horrible, and that the people clashed over milk, chicken nuggets, and catnip. His story was an interesting concept to play around with and elaborate further. Feel free to read it and share your thoughts! I'm also open to suggestions and recommendations for future stories! I have other pieces in the works, so stay tuned for more stories! Fanfic for the week included: She Stayed, A Gift for Kagome, Just a Drop, A Monday to Remember, Sometimes a Fish Is Just a Fish, The World May Never Know, Mating Rituals of the High School Boy, Better Left Forgotten, A Hard Place, Finished, Better at Being You Than You, In the Details, Perfection, Instigator, Uncontrollable Desire, Mixed Signals, Take Care of Me, Anything But That, At Home, Change in Perspective, Not Big, To Sesshomaru from Santa, Worth the View, Poking the Bear, Hope, Like It's a Bad Thing, Mood Swings, What to Expect When You're Expecting, Matryoshka, Ladies Choice, and The Winter Dance. The newest episode of YashaHime didn't disappoint; I'm getting so hyped for the continuation of its story. We finally got to meet Shippo again after all this time! I know the boys I babysit will be excited to hear about his appearance and what he's been up to all this time. InuYasha and Moroha were being so cute together (they're definitely related lol), Kirinmaru is so wrapped up in his ego; it's really frustrating, and I'm getting so angry on Sesshomaru and his clan's behalf. What's the point of being the strongest? Sure, he seeks to prove himself so he can transcend time, likely to be with Rion again, but he's going about it the wrong way. I highly doubt that the gods and Akuru are going to give him the green light to be with his daughter again if he's causing all this suffering and death by separating loved ones from one another (he intends to eliminate an entire clan). The ends don't justify the means. Sure, he might be able to save all of humanity if he can reach modern day Tokyo, but he's not going to get what he wants by using these methods. Sesshomaru's determination is truly admirable, getting up to protect his family when he literally can't move due to Kirinmaru's attack stealing all his life force/haku. Love always finds a way, and it just makes me love him all the more. I eagerly look forward to next week's episode! It feels so close yet so far away.


I watched the first 12 episodes of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom this week (I thought there were only 13 episodes, but it turns out there's more, so I'm guessing it's season will consist of around 24 episodes). I like the twist they took on the isekai genre, having the hero be a realist. Kazuya is crazy intelligent, and he's able to plan strategically so far ahead! It kind of reminds me of Lelouch from Code Geass. Kazuya is able to pull of feats that others never would have even considered. It's an intriguing storyline, and I look forward to seeing how they continue the story! Similarly, I look forward to seeing how we will overcome challenges with ingenuity as a society. We have a lot of untapped potential, and we can accomplish anything if we put our hearts, minds, and souls to it. I think a lot of the solutions that will be arising will surprise us; as a whole, we won't see it coming, but we'll be oh so pleasantly surprised. I look forward to seeing all the good we will accomplish. Times are changing, and the light will ultimately win. It may take time for all the wonderful changes to become implemented, but it's only a matter of time before it's here. Like how Kazuya urges all of the kingdom's citizens who have a talent to step forward and share their talents, it's our time to step up and share our blessings, our talents, and skills. It's time to be our best selves rather than keeping our unique, beautiful songs unsung. The world is a much better place with us in it, and we have the power to change the world for the better if we give ourselves the chance. I look forward to seeing just what we all have to offer! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend, stays warm, and follows their joy! If we listen to our heart, we can never be wrong. Take care and stay blessed with love and light, everyone!


Food for thought from Ralph Smart:








Food for thought for the week:


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