Mysterious Monday: New Year's Superstitions

Happy New Year to everyone! I dug up a few superstitions related to the turning of the old year into the new.

Make sure to kiss someone you love to ensure warm relationships throughout the year. If you don’t kiss someone you care about, they say that your relationships will be cold through 2013. Wonder what happens if you’re doing the horizontal tango at the stroke of midnight? So to speak.

Make lots of noise to drive away the evil spirits who lurk in the veil between the worlds. At certain points in the year, the end of it being one of those points, the veil between the worlds is thinner, allowing all sorts of ghosts and demons and beasties of a naughty sort to step through. They don’t like loud noises, though, so enjoy those fireworks if it’s legal in your neck of the woods.

If it’s possible, settle your debts before January 1^st to bring good fortune in the new year. This is a tough one for many of us. I can only remember one solvent New Year as a married adult. Time to turn that one around. Be careful, though, not to pay anyone off on January 1^st as you will not be able to keep money around for the next year.

The first one to enter your house on January 1^st should be a dark-haired male if you wish good fortune in the coming year. And don’t let anything out of your house on the 1^st without something coming in first—some people go so far as to toss something out the door on December 31^st, attaching it with a string and pulling it in the next morning.

For some reason, eating Black Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day is good luck. That’s a stroke of luck I will never have, as I simply can’t stand the things. Honestly, I never even heard of them until I was grown.

Full wallets mean prosperity in the year ahead, as full cupboards mean full bellies in the year ahead. My cupboards are always full—a leftover from lean years when we ate only thanks to WIC basics, care packages from our parents, and the half-priced day-old bread. I have yet to keep full wallets, but perhaps I’ll try putting a bunch of singles in it and see if that brings me prosperity in 2013.

It is said that doing a token amount of work will make you successful in the new year, but you should never take on a project that you cannot start and finish on New Year’s Day.

My favorite one was probably made up by an overworked housewife—it is bad luck to wash clothes or dishes on New Year’s Day; it will “drain away” your fortunes with the dirty water. Whoever made that one up gets my New Year’s kiss!

My other favorites are to drain the dregs of the bottle and to dance around a tree in the open air—kind of go hand-in-hand, yes? I have faint memories of doing such things in the past, though not necessarily on New Year’s Eve/Day.

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's celebration and that 2013 finds you happy, healthy, and prosperous.

Wednesday Check In: Post Christmas

Words:

The only new words this week were my blog entries. However, I did edit just shy of 9K words in my NaNo project when I realized that certain aspects of the idea were not working for me and were holding me up from adding to the MS. Once the holidays are completely over, and everything is packed away for next year, I’ll be back on track. Until then, editing should keep me busy.

Weight:

Speaking of off-track… The bad news is that the holiday food added back either 1.4 or 0 pounds, depending on which scale reading you believe. Oddly enough, I got up this morning and threw myself on the scale and it read 209.6; after an hour of trying (and failing) to wake up, I was feeling a bit off anyway, so I decided to go back to sleep. I woke up nearly two hours later and put myself on the scale again, just for shits and giggles--208.2, exactly the same as last week. So no loss, but no gain, either. 

The good news is that the eating part of the holiday is over. No more cookies, no more bread, no more Christmas lasagna (my personal Christmas tradition). The workout remains the same for now, with only increased time on the treadmill (an extra 10 minutes). It really IS easier having my hubby on board with this. He makes some mean lean meals. 

Weather:

Well, it cooperated Christmas morning and was a bit chilly (don’t know HOW chilly, just that hubby had to turn on the heat). Now, it’s back to warm/hot, with no rain. Until today. This afternoon, we got a bit of rain, the sky remained overcast, the wind picked up, and the temperature dropped. Currently, it is in the low 60s, discounting the wind chill. I actually had to turn the heat on in my car when my younger boy and I were driving around earlier.

Mysterious Monday, on Tuesday: Myrrh

Well, as you can see, I am still not smart enough to write my blogs in advance. Yesterday, we were busy baking cookies, wrapping presents and buying last minute stocking stuffers and such. By the end of the day, I was far too exhausted to write about myrrh.

(Image from an About.com article, photo by Alison Miksch/FoodPix/Getty Images)

As it turns out, myrrh is similar in many ways to frankincense. It, too, is harvested from a hardy scrub-like tree. It also forms a resin that can be burned as an incense or used in perfumes and cosmetics.

Myrrh can be taken internally to treat gastrointestinal problems such as gas and diarrhea. It is not only an anti-fungicide, but an anti-septic and an anti-viral, as well. It stimulates the circulatory system, increasing blood flow, so while it is good for treating uterine problems, those who have heart conditions or who are pregnant should be careful of this resin. Initial trials have shown that chewed myrrh can reduce blood glucose levels (but don’t take it with your diabetes meds, as your blood sugar may dip drastically low).

As a balm, it treats dry, cracked skin, and soothes sores, helping scars to fade. It causes the skin to contract, and so can be used to help the scalp keep a firm grip on hair follicles, or on the gums to help keep them firm around the teeth.

When burned, myrrh’s calming scent helps to center the mind and body, opening the spiritual pathways. Myrrh was used in embalming mummies and the dead were often treated with it before being wrapped in their winding cloths, probably as a way to cover the scent of a decaying body before interment.

So, the three gifts of the Magi were not just randomly chosen items. All three items would have been good for promoting good health and spirituality, as well as being very expensive. I’ll see you all in just a few hours to report on words, weight, and weather.

Oh, and HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo Friday: The Christmas Outback

A couple weeks ago, I told you how hubby was so ticked off about our sudden rain. The main reason is this:

Isn't he cute? He decorated his car with garland, lights, and stockings. 

Hard to see the car since it's dark, but the lights can be set to "twinkle" or "steady". The battery packs are kept in the stockings.

Hubby, who usually winds up on my “naughty” list around this time of year for his very realistic portrayal of The Grinch, seems to have finally taken the end of that story to heart. So to speak. Where usually I have to beg, plead, cajole, nag and wind up having my lights put up a mere day or two before Christmas, this year, he got them the week after Thanksgiving week-end.

Unfortunately, the garland lights that the teen loved so much were too heavy for the hangars we had. They came down with the first big wind and just kept coming down. I’m going to ask hubby to put hooks into the concrete for next year; maybe that, with electrical ties, will keep the garland up. This year, I’ll tell the teen to decorate the hall outside his room with the lights or we can put them up in the front room (where there is no breeze and no rain).

Tonight, we finish decorating, except for the tree, which gets finished on Christmas Eve, per my family’s tradition, and one the teen loves—the 12 year-old would have it all decorated the day after Thanksgiving if given his head. I may be making popcorn, as that’s one of his favorite things to do is make a popcorn garland. Actually, he enjoys anything homemade or crafty. Don’t know where he got that gene.

I hope you all enjoy your last shopping week-end before Christmas and I’ll see you all Monday, when I’ll be chatting about Myrrh, the last gift of the Magi, fittingly, on Christmas Eve day.

Weekly check-in: the day after

Sorry--A day late and a dollar short this week. Had a busier day than usual yesterday (five hours at the younger boy's school, helping on a teacher appreciation luncheon) and then wound up with technical difficulties. 

I'm still WAY behind on Christmas prep--cards to get written and out, decorations to put up, cookies to make and bake. This Saturday, we go to my in-laws' house for "early Christmas" since they work Christmas day. I'm in direct sales and Sunday I receive my last delivery before Christmas (it will need to be sorted and delivered to customers, hopefully ON Sunday), which leaves only part of Sunday (hopefully) and Monday to finish everything. 

The day after Christmas, my teen is off to another Sea Cadet training class (luckily, this one is only an hour or so away, instead of a full day's drive) and right now we're busy trying to pick up all of his last-minute sea bag items, as well as helping a friend whose daughter is going for the first time to a training.

At any rate, here's the check-in:

Words:

Not a whole lot to say, other than “Blech!” I did transfer another fan fic over to AO3—thirty little drabbles worth, but that was it outside of the blogs (1,123 words) and one small story idea that I do not like in the light of day and was only 542 words anyway. That gives me an average of about 240 per day.

Once all this Christmas busy-ness is over, I plan to collapse for about a week before getting ready for taxes and then settling down with a proper writing schedule. My goal will still be 500 words per day, but I'd like that to be the "fiction only" goal, not including the blogs.

Weight:

Here’s where I shine this week. Current weight:

That's down 3.4 pounds from last week. I’ve been keeping my calories as close to 1200 per day as possible and increased my exercise routine. 

Current exercises:

5 rolling back stretches (on my back, knees bent, roll to first one side, then the other)

5 opposing back stretches (on my back, lengthen one side of my body, then the other)

30 sit ups

3 reps of 10 each flutter kicks

5 push ups (regular)

30 push ups (easy)

5 push ups (regular)

5 switches between child pose and cobra

10 four count leg lifts (on my side—bend the top knee in, then out, then put the leg up, then down; repeat on the both legs)

Stand and do:

10 curls with 2 pound weights

10 side arm raises with the same weights

10 front arm exercises with the same weights (hold arms at shoulder height at sides, bring hands together, back to sides)

10 windmills

30 minutes on the treadmill, beginning at a speed of 2.6, going up to 3.6 at the most, cooling down with a speed of 2.6.

With 34 weeks to go to Chicon, if I can keep up this weight loss, I’ll have reached my goal easily and even gone below. I began this trek at nearly 218, with a goal of getting down to 160/165 by August. My August goal is now 160. I want to be down to 145 by the end of 2013, perhaps a bit lower, but not by much.

Weather:

As usual, it’s too danged warm to be nearly Christmas in Florida. Yesterday morning, it was a lovely 52F; the afternoon was supposed to have been in the 80s again. Pfffttt! No precipitation of any sort, either. Boring, boring, boring weather. I can’t wait to move north, even though that’ll mean my kids have moved out.

Mysterious Monday--The Healing Powers of Frankincense

Last week, we learned about the power of gold. This week, as promised, I found out about the second gift of the Magi—Frankincense.

Frankincense is actually a type of resin that “bleeds” from certain hardy trees found in the arid areas of the Middle East. It is harvested by making cuts in the bark—the first bits to ooze out are not the highest value, but the second and third cuts bear a better quality resin.

For over five thousand years, Frankincense, known simply as “incense” has been traded in and around the countries of the Mediterranean. Banned for many years by the Christian churches for its connection to Jewish spirituality, it later became called Frankincense when Frankish Crusaders brought it back to Europe from the Middle East.

The resin burns due to the natural oils present, and was used as an incense in the ancient world, where bathing was not exactly a daily habit. Its piney, lemony smell would cover the scent of your neighbor’s body odor, as well as acting as an insecticide. Good stuff, that, ‘cause if you ain’t bathing, odds are good you’ve got some sort of insect taking up residence on your body without a lease or any sort of permission.

Another benefit comes from the smoke from the burning resin—it is said to be good for clearing out germs from the air, thereby bringing good health to a home in which it was burned every day. The scent is quite calming and is used today in meditation as a way to center the mind and body.

Taken internally, the ancients would use the resin to aid in digestion, as well as for treating tumors, ulcers, and dysentery. Pliny the Elder (who we have to respect—after all, he is an elder) even claims that the resin could be used as a cure for hemlock poisoning. Too bad Socrates didn’t have some stashed in his robes, although from what I hear, it wouldn’t have done him any good with the Athenian people out for his blood.

But if he had tried to escape and had suffered superficial wounds, he could have used the oil of his handy-dandy hemlock to treat those wounds. Also good for acne, and when added to a bath, for the treatment of cramps. The ashes of the burned stuff were used to make kohl to line the eyes of Egyptian royalty and it was also used to mummify them at their deaths (one would hope they were dead, anyway).

For the treatment of acne and cramps alone, I’m thinking of picking up a bottle. For the baby Jesus, there were lots of reason why this yellowish/clear resin would make a good gift. It just would not do for the son of a deity to have zits or smell bad or have a tummy-ache. 

Next week, assuming we all don’t meet our fiery ends on December 21^st, I’ll talk about the properties of myrrh, which seems to be a close cousin to Frankincense. 

By the way, if you would like to buy some, too, I found it for sale on Amazon, which is where I got the pretty piccie. 

Photo Friday Cancelled this week due to grief

There will be no photo Friday today. I am too shocked, appalled, and saddened beyond grief. I ask instead that we all bow our heads or lift our eyes and pray to our deity of choice that the families and friends of the children and adults murdered by an obviously disturbed young man in Newtown, Connecticut this morning find some peace. Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers this evening as you go about your business. Don't turn it into a political issue; make it an issue of caring and love, an issue of one human being offering a shoulder to cry on to another who needs it. And hold someone dear to you, for just a moment longer than you normally would. I will see you all again Monday.