I have been promising pictures of the house forever... so here they are. It's still a work in progress; we have tons of "little touches" here and there to still do. I'm a little disappointed with the pictures, however. The flash distorted the wall colors. With the exception of the upstairs bedroom and office, all the walls in the house are a greenish-grey-sage color.

After having dug to a depth of 50 feet last year, Mexican scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the Mexicans, in the weeks that followed, Texans scientists dug to a depth of 75 feet, and shortly after, headlines in the Houston newspapers read:

"Texas archaeologists have found traces of 200 year old copper wire and have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the Mexicans."

One week later, the "Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council", in its Reservation newsletter reported the following:

"After digging as deep as 90 feet in wash beds near Bear Soldier District, Casper One Horse, a self taught archeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing.

One Horse has therefore concluded that 300 years ago Natives had already gone wireless."

It's 10:30am Monday morning, and the window directly behind me is open at a 45° angle. I'm at the office, and my energy is very low today. I can barely focus on anything. Do I even want to?

Suddenly ~ the skies have turned dark, and the sounds of distant thunder fill the empty spaces between skyscrapers. A chill rushes up my arms and across my back, and transports me somewhere else ~ a spiritual recharge from nature, herself, is eminent. I love thunderstorms. The rains come quickly... and beautifully. The breeze washing over me is now carrying a soft mist... a mist that's calling me to leave my desk, and rush outside and dance under the thunder and lightning. I want to go. I want to run. I want to get soaked.

I close my eyes, and I can see a field beneath me... wet grass beneath my toes, beneath the stormlord's clouds of grey. The breeze pushes around the papers across my desk. I don't care. They're nothing. Why am I inside? Thunder. Can you hear it too? Thunder. Rain. My arms are covered in goosebumps. Covered. Chango ~ God of Thunder calls to his Carribbean children. Carribbean blood. Tribal blood. Drums and Thunder. I can smell smoke. Campfire. Bonfire. Dance. Dance. Dance.

Free. Be free. Dance free. Fly free. Dance free in the rain. Dance.

My best friend is getting married! After eight years of living in sin (LOL), Mabelyn and Rob are finally going to be tying that proverbial knot! They got engaged last night (I just got all the details from Mabe)! I can't express how insanely happy I am for the two of them ~ I am sitting here crying at the office! This news has absolutely made my day! Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!

It's obvious that I'm the kind of person who loves having a billion and one projects going on at once... and usually that's by my own doing. Well... now I'm cluttered. My mind is cluttered. My desk is cluttered. Cluttered. I'm at a bit of a loss as how to prioritize any of it. I want to work on everything all at once and finish it yesterday. Obviously, not going to happen. Didn't happen.

Honestly, all I really want right now is a piece of cheesecake, some champagne... to sit on a balcony with flowing white curtains behind me, and just look out at the ocean.

It's my last day off of a glorious, exceptionally productive, four-day weekend. My Thursday night, and most of my Friday was spent cleaning up the house from top to bottom, and making it as dog-hair free as possible. Not an easy task, considering that Beamer is a Jack Russell Terrier that sheds all year long. *sigh*. LOL. Managed to also do ALL the laundry in the house, even some of Brighton's old blankets.

Witchy Stuff
I also had a wonderful full moon ritual Friday night, and felt very recharged afterwards. The energy in the house even feels different. Alive. I put candles in every room, blessing them as I lit them. I even blessed a new traveling Book of Shadows, that I intend to carry around with me as a magickal journal, if you catch my meaning. I get chills just by touching it. I surrounded it by gems the night of the full moon, and ran it through the incense I was burning around the house.

My Online Shops
I managed to spend a few hours working on Shop Azodnem, too. I added and fixed a few of the products on Sketches and Caricatures (a homage to some old friends ~ LOL). I also added the uncolored versions of the Perched Dragonette and Sleeping Dragonette to the shop. I'm hoping to be able to spend some time today on my Zazzle shop, Azodnem on Zazzle, and flesh out that shop a little more. I really love the interactive factor of the Zazzle shops. Azodnem on LuLu now has two books on it. Most of the upcoming projects I'm planning to post up are meant more as "personal achievements". Things I want to get done. I'm planning a private short story (Star Wars fanfiction) based on the character I created and played during the two and a half years I was online at Star Wars Galaxies. You can read the online version of it here: The Red Lady. This book will NOT be publically available, there will only be thirteen copies of it, which I intend to give as gifts. (So, if anyone is interested in a one of those copies, please let me know).

Movies
LOVED it! I actually stepped out yesterday for awhile to enjoy the weather and walk around. I hit the local theater, spent some cash and watched a flick. Loved Hancock. Saw Hellboy II last Wednesday with a crowd of friends, and we're watching The Dark Knight this coming Wednesday! Yeah! Movies! ROFL.

World of Warcraft
I've squeezed in a few hours of gameplay this weekend, not as much as I would've liked... but my vibes to be productive are very high... so it's been hard for me to get into the geeky-gaming mode. DAMN... well... the day is still young. ROFL.

Little Tasks
I've got some little "finishing up business" tasks to get down today... e-mails, last minute dusting and swiffing. *Yeah* Brighton comes home tonight. He's had a wonderful time with his son and granddaughter!

I feel so recharged, it's wonderful... I really needed a few days off.

Can I collapse now? LOL

Brighton is going away this week from Thursday morning to Monday night, to see one his sons and granddaughter (yup ~ he's only 43 and has a granddaughter! ROFL! She's adorable!). I'm going to take Friday and Monday off to extend my weekend, and see if I can finally get to some of the remaing things in the house. Minor paint touch-ups. Hanging some picture frames. Hopefully priming and adding the Venetian Plaster to the bathroom. I promise I will try to sneak in some fun time into those four days. I have two free movie passes, that I'll try to use up, to see some of the movies Brighton doesn't want to.

I should be posting up "Before" & "After" shots of the house soon. I promise.

OK. So I have been really busy the past few weeks. I know I always say that, but behold... I offer proof:

Azodnem on LuLu
I've finished my first book! It's called "Moments". "Moments" is a compliation of almost fourteen years of some of my poetry, short stories, artwork my private journal entries, and even some of the entries from my blog here on Bravenet. I posted it up last night, and ordered myself a copy. I can't seem to be able to customize the shop as much as I have my other two, but I'm over it. I have quite a few other literary projects ahead as well. Some of the other things I'll be adding up on LuLu (hopefully in the next few months) are (1) a small poetry book, (2) an art / portfolio book to showcase my work, (3) a witchy book, (4) my own role-playing game (yes, I'm a geek), (5) my own comic book / graphic novel (based on the Hara: Space Diva character I created ages ago ~ check out my CafePress shop under "Books & Comics" to catch a glimpse of her!), (6) a three book fiction series (very hush-hush ~ LOL!), and lastly (7) the newsletters for Wolf & Dragon, once I get that site finally up and running. Too much on plate? perhaps. Hooray! LOL.

Shop Azodnem
Shop Azodnem continues to grow in small spurts. Fine by me. I've managed to tweak a few of the sections recently, and I'll be adding a few of my older sketches (that I've recently come across) as well.

Azodnem on Zazzle
Azodnem on Zazzle is the "sister-shop" of Shop Azodnem. Check it out, gang.

P.S. ~ Am I a narsasist? Azodnem-this. Azodnem-that.

LOL.