I hope everyone had a fun week! Life is full of surprises, and it decided to give us a fun surprise at the beginning of this week. Monday afternoon I was scrolling through emails as I was waiting in carpool to pick up the boys and noticed an email from Insomnia Cookies promoting a Pajama Party. All you needed to do to get a free cookie was show up in your pajamas starting at 9pm that evening. They were having giveaways and had deals on cookies (like 12 cookies for $12). I shared the information with Corliss and April, and we all decided we wanted to go. It was lots of fun! Iris showed up, too, and loved the light up balloons they had at Insomnia Cookies. She also thought the sunglasses were the coolest. Granted, I was rather tired on Tuesday morning since I had to get up early to hang out with the boys before school, but it was worth it; we had so much fun! It was a nice surprise, and I look forward to the other surprises life has in store for us!
My dream was kind of hazy when I woke up on Monday morning, but part of it had been rather intense. I had met up with April and Corliss in the dream. First I think I met Corliss outside of Walgreens. Apparently, we were both applying to work there. Corliss had been hired on the spot I think. She worked a short shift, and I met up with her afterwards. It sort of seemed like it was close to Halloween and Christmas; there were costumes and Christmas décor basically everywhere. A child was with me, and I think it was Corliss’s niece Harper. We met up with Corliss in the store. I feel like we did something in the store with Corliss, but I couldn’t really remember what it was upon waking. We did run into April outside of the store, though. She was arriving for an interview.
I don’t remember how exactly it transitioned, but we all ended up outside at like a park or driveway. I feel like it had something to do with Kim Possible maybe, but I’m not entirely certain. Corliss, April, and I began discussing crystals and sharing/showing off different ones we had. It was a lot of fun, and we were all energized. Then suddenly, there was this shadowy entity that was rather negative. It like surrounded me and boomed an aggressive “NO.” The entity said other things, but I couldn't recall what it exactly said (it was something along the lines of "that's not allowed" or something like that I think). I’m pretty sure it happened in the physical because it happened to me in bed. I felt an intense pressure like it was cutting me off from happiness, love, positivity, etc.; it basically paralyzed me. It was freaking me out. I started focusing on The Prince of Egypt song, "When You Believe", and singing it in my head, which lessened its grip on me. I woke up, still feeling the presence, and grasped both a clear quartz and a black tourmaline crystal, which dissipated the entity and left me with a sense of ease and peace.
I was on edge for awhile and struggled to go back to sleep. Eventually I did. I know I met up with Corliss again in the dream state. We were at a store. It sort of seemed like Michael’s, but it wasn’t. We were going through the store since Corliss wanted to find a specific item. I felt compelled to share my experience from the previous dream with the entity. Corliss was concerned, wanting to ascertain that I was alright, and was glad that I was able to deter it and handle it on my own. I had explained about the crystals and how I was able to focus on love and light, which was the entity’s kryptonite. It was rather empowering even though it had been rather unnerving in the moment.
I didn’t remember much from my dream when I woke up on Tuesday morning, but it was a more peaceful dream, especially compared to the previous night’s intensity. From what I could recall, the dream was about a line of royalty and magical creatures/beings. There was a “main character,” so to speak, of the dream that somewhat resembled Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail. At one point, she had been held prisoner; I think the planet/country her family had been in charge of had been taken over by another group (one intent on controlling everything and not having the people/world’s best interest in mind). This happened when she was a child. I’m pretty sure she had gotten to the point where she had given up on everything, but then this fairy appeared. The fairy was the size of a human and infiltrated the grounds to help her. The fairy gave her the encouragement needed to free herself by running away. When she started running towards her freedom, the fairy smiled; they looked after her, ensuring that she could get away, but the girl had to “take the first step” and be the one initiating it. Years passed, and I think she had met up with others to help her. I know that there were these talking, magical/powerful cat beings. The cat beings were connected to the royal line (not sure if they were actually part of the line or acted as like guides/assistants to the line). There was a red one that had a slight scar on its face and a white one with blue eyes for sure. There was also this being that was the now teenaged/young adult girl’s ally. I think the fairy from before was acting as like a narrator of the dream and labeled the creature as an “imp.” The being/imp resembled a human more or less, but I do remember that it had long, pointed ears (he kind of had a resemblance to Hypnos in Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle). It had a rather mischievous nature but was very loyal (it kind of reminded me of Hikaru and Kaoru from Ouran High School Host Club). It had a special/magical ability to summon these creatures that kind of resembled dogs but weren’t; they would appear, creating a circle, and reminded me sort of the moon cycles (they appeared in varying forms of “light” and “dark,” as if going through the different phases). I’m pretty sure the creatures would be aggressive to anyone aside from the “imp” and their friends. I feel like more happened, but that’s all I could remember.
When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I could tell a lot happened in my dream, but I didn’t remember everything. What I did remember started off with like this village, and I think there was kind of like a circus that was a part of it. The village seemed fairly self-sufficient. There was this lady who either had some kind of magic/healing abilities or was a witch. The village adored her (sort of reminded me of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level); the lady took care of the village and helped them with all their medicinal needs. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but the village turned on her (not sure if it was an individual/group that lied to the village to flip their perception of her or if it was a misunderstanding or what). They went from love and adoration to rage and hate. Well, most of them, anyhow. There was a guy, who seemed to be her childhood friend; he wasn’t buying the story. He knew better and remained loyal, figuring a way to get her out of the village and keep her safe. He teamed up with her, gathered supplies, and left the village with her. I know that they were using a car (I think his car) and stopped by his house to get things (the villagers were escalating, and I think on the verge of violence). The steadfast trust and loyalty were really sweet. More might have happened, but that’s all I could remember from this part.
There was also a part involving like some kind of experiment/deception. It involved candy. There was this group of individuals that got swept up in it once some candy hit the floor (it sort of seemed like Tic Tacs or breath mints); the candy was key to instigating the whole thing. Without it, it wouldn’t initiate. There was some way to like reset things. I think this was taking place at someone’s house, but then the setting merged with a school. The girl aware of the thing (the one that recognized that the group was basically being played and manipulated) tried to get the others to wake up and realize what was going on. They were in some kind of school lab, and the girl managed the others even though they had no conscious awareness that they were basically in a manipulated, warped reality. She urged them to listen, even though the group was mostly skeptical, emphasizing that this whole thing was some kind of experiment. This excited two individuals that seemed to be researchers; they had no qualms believing the girl and were excited by the prospect of learning something new and basically cracking the case. The group started writing things on index cards, stuff like what they remembered, what they could tell was different, how they feel they had changed, etc. Some people had changed “for the worse,” but others seemed to have changed for the better, growing as people. The last thing I remember was the group trying to decide on like a codeword that they would all recognize if the experiment reset them all again without their knowledge, effectively wiping all their progress clean and sending them back to square 1. More happened, but the rest was hazy to my recollection.
I woke up at like 4 am on Thursday morning and couldn't go back to sleep. My dream was also hazy, so I didn't remember much of anything. I think my dream involved Sesshomaru, but I couldn't tell you what actually happened. When I woke up on Friday morning, I felt like a lot happened in my dream. What I did remember from it was that I went to somewhere like Denny’s with my sister and her boyfriend. I don’t remember what I ordered, but before we left I went to the bathroom. The bathroom had a lot of activity. There were 3 stalls but like 7-10 other people there. They were all getting ready for some performance or something. It felt rather crowded. It took awhile for me to even get to the stall. Apparently, the lady doing the others’ makeup thought that I was part of it, saying that she would do me after she finished the person she was currently working on. I informed her that I actually wasn’t a part of that group, which embarrassed her. She had assumed because she didn’t want to look stupid; apparently, I had given a speech with the group before, so she assumed that meant I was part of the group. When I was finally able to get through the chaos that was the bathroom, I came out to find that my sister and her boyfriend had moved all my belongings and scattered them near the exit. Apparently, I took too long, and her boyfriend was supposed to have left awhile ago. I explained that there had been a lot of people in the bathroom and pointed out that if it was so important that we leave, why didn’t my sister come and get me? I had no way of knowing there would be so many people in there—it’s not like I intended it. Her boyfriend was all miffed, and my sister had nothing to say to that. More probably happened, but that’s all I could remember.
When I woke up on Saturday morning, I didn't remember all that much from my dream. I felt like I accomplished things in the dream/astral realm, but I didn't remember all that happened. At one point I think I was at a wedding for my brother, although he got married back in January of this year. I remember my friends and family showing up for it. I'm pretty sure I sat next to my cousin, Drake. I didn't recall what actually happened at the wedding aside from this long carpet (it wasn't red but had some kind of decorative pattern on it) being rolled out. There was another part where I was traveling with April I think. I'm pretty sure I only had a small bag with me. April had several, one of them being the pink and purple bag from my childhood. The bag differed slightly from the one I had when I was a kid, though, as it had a Little Foot and Chomper (from The Land Before Time series) tag on it. April commented on the bag being for/representing Korea, but I'm not sure why. That's all I could remember. When I woke up this morning, I couldn't remember everything from my dream; what I did remember was that it involved Dave from Dave the Barbarian and Sesshomaru. Dave and Sesshomaru met and sort of became friends (maybe allies or acquaintances would be a better word). Dave was explaining his kingdom to Sesshomaru and introduced him to his family, at least those that were there (namely his sisters and uncle). I think they ended up going elsewhere (it sort of seemed like a mall). I know a lot more happened, but the other details of the dream are fuzzy.
It was another full week of babysitting! One afternoon after picking the boys up we got to discussing Disney channel shows; they wanted to know which ones I watched growing up. I can't say I remember all of the shows, but I did watch Kim Possible and Good Luck, Charlie. I'm pretty sure Life with Dereck was a Disney show, too. This led to them discussing crossovers that should happen between Disney shows. They want to see a crossover between Kim Possible and Phineas and Ferb and have Kim and Perry be a spy team. The prospect holds promise, and I find it intriguing. What crossovers do you want to see/are some of your favorites? We talked about how the Aladdin and Hercules shows had crossovers with each other. I wonder how many crossovers are out there (maybe most of them are fanfic lol). The boys also wanted to know how my new job was going (started it on Thursday morning), asking if there were any new stories. I shared a few.
One of the girls there (there's only 10 kids enrolled at this point in time) brought out these little toy creatures; they were plastic, and they looked sort of like galactic beings and/or mythical creatures (they did not look like any known animal on planet Earth). They were interesting little toys. The girl informed me that they were twins, called Cosmo and Cosmo Two/Too (not sure which she was referring to). She told me not to get on their bad side, so I asked how I could avoid doing so. She informed me that if I were to yell at them, be rude to them, or be mean to them, they would get angry with me and put me on their bad side. "The twins" seemed to like me, though, but my coworker was apparently on their bad side even without doing anything. The girl chastised my coworker, telling him he needed to be quiet because the twins were napping (lol). Friday morning was interesting. The girl brought "the twins" back but was getting frustrated because she couldn't find them. She searched everywhere in the main pocket of her backpack and exclaimed that she couldn't find them in a huff. I suggested checking her backpack's other pockets. She was surprised by my suggestion but thought it was a good idea. She found them in another pocket. She was miffed at them since "they decided to hide." As a result, she put them in time out for a large portion of before care, "locking them up" in a basket (lol). She and the other girls played with My Little Pony ponies (mainly Twilight, Cadence, Celestia, and Fluttershy). They were feeding the ponies play food and gave them cups to drink from (supposedly hot chocolate), but they were being a bit devious to the ponies. They said that they were mixing in poop with the food/drink and had the ponies "throw up." Eventually, they tired of this game and decided to play a new one with the ponies. It involved Princess Celestia's sister, Luna. There was this metal circle on one of the pillars, so they decided that it was the moon and that Luna was locked inside. Celestia went to her sister and ended up getting stuck in a "black hole" (the hole for the recycling bin below). Kids are something else and so creative.
Tsuki's still a nut. I wonder if she'll grow out of some of her nuttiness as she grows up. Only time will tell. She keeps knocking her water and food bowls into the middle of the kitchen--everything is her toy. She also loves to climb up people like they're trees (she does this to me usually once a day if not more); she has serious FOMO (fear of missing out) and will race after me, even if she was passed out asleep and I'm just grabbing something quickly from another room. She's such a goof.
New goodies from Spiritual Supermall's Divine $9 arrived this week! I love all their special goodies from their weekly releases! I wonder what they'll release next. Also, Adam, the owner, is turning 39 today, so he has a special discount for this weekend! Promo code "ADAMS_BDAY" gives you an additional 39% off; happy birthday, Adam!
Art for this week includes:
This week I did some reading, writing, and anime watching. Fanfic for this week: Fetch, At Least One Person, The Flower Girl, A Winter Wish, Trick'd Part Deux, Sweet Betrayal, Now or Never, In Darkness No Longer, Hear the Other Side, And On That Day, The Consequences of Pranking Sesshomaru, If You Fly Away Tonight, Ebony Eyes, Fuyu, Fuyu No Kokoro, Fuyo No Shimekiri, and Accidentally Funny. I have a new story posted! It's not for any challenge this time around, but it's another short story focusing on Karissa, Serena, and their friendship. Feel free to read it and share your thoughts. The newest story is Starlight and Stardust: Conversing with the Stars. I'm open to suggestions for future stories, too, so you're more than welcome to share recommendations! I also submitted an entry for the Homecoming poetry challenge: Home is Where the Heart Is. I'm currently working on a piece for the Inside Joke challenge and EmPAWyee of the Month challenge.
I watched Kaguya-sama: Love is War this week on a whim. It's story proves the silly nature of humans and the ridiculous lengths humanity can go to when operating from the ego. Granted, their fears could happen, but it's not a guarantee. If they had chosen to be honest with each other and listen to their hearts rather than getting caught up in the ego's mind games, so much of their struggles, stress, and misunderstandings could have been avoided. They tried so hard to "save face" and not "make a fool of themselves" based on what they perceived the other person's thoughts were. The whole things turned into a long, drawn-out battle that didn't need to happen, although it definitely could have been a part of their overall growth as individuals, acting as life lessons. It's interesting to reflect on. I also caught up on the recent episodes of Black Clover and My Hero Academia. What happened to Captain Yami hit hard. They were so close but ended up falling short. It was so sad; I could feel the Black Bull's despair. I was also surprised to meet the vice captain. While I know that all the squads have vice captains, it escaped my notice as of late that we hadn't met the Black Bull's vice captain. I might have noticed that fact when I first started watching, but it wasn't at the forefront of my awareness. I am curious about the vice captain. Seems like an interesting character, although, to be fair, all the the Black Bulls are unique and don't quite fit the traditional mold. It was also interesting that My Hero Academia focused on the villains. To be honest, I've always liked Twice. The recent episodes further cemented that fact; he's loyal. Sure, he has walked down a different path than I have chosen, but who knows what I would have chosen if I were in his shoes. The world wasn't particularly kind to him; many people probably would make similar choices (it makes me think about Timon's remark, "When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world."). Twice has a kind heart deep down, though, but was dealt a difficult hand; once he found people that accepted him, he was devoutly loyal, giving it his all to protect them and keep them safe. If his journey had taken different turns, I'm sure he would have been an incredible hero. The additional backstory on the other villains was intriguing, and it got me thinking. While some individuals may choose to be a villain "just for the sake of it" and wanting to be "bad," it made me wonder about their motives. Did they actively wish to pursue villainy or was it society's standards that labeled them as villains. While I don't approve of harming others and being incredibly self-centered, society likely pushed a great number of them. Toga views herself as being "normal." In the sense that the universe/God/source/Creator can do no wrong and all creations are inherently perfectly imperfect as they are (for growth and learning), Toga is correct. Others feared her. I can't say I share her interests or understand her passions, but who are we to judge? It has definitely given me food for thought. Society likes to label things in terms of being black and white, such as "right" and "wrong," "good" and "evil," "normal" and "strange." The thing is, just because society claims such does it make it true? Are all of society's claims fact? I wouldn't say that all of society is a lie, per se, but the world is full of shades of gray and color--it's not black and white. Just because something is "normal" for one individual or group doesn't mean that can be said for all. Moreover, just because something is "normal" doesn't mean it's in your best interests or for your wellbeing. It could be, but that doesn't mean it will be. Just because something is "normal" doesn't mean that it should be normal. Just something to consider as we continue our journey through these unusual times. I can't say I have all the answers, since I'm learning along the way with the rest of you.
Remember to be gentle with yourself and prioritize your wellbeing and joy. Plenty of things matter, but don't let your health, mental state, and overall wellbeing fall to the bottom of your priority list. You matter. Your happiness is important. The mind is a great tool, but remember to listen to your heart, as well. If we, as humans, listened to our hearts more, we'd probably avoid many of our issues. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend, and stay blessed with love and light~
Some food for thought to consider from Ralph Smart:
Here's some food for thought for this week:
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