Life is a strange cycle

A path home.

I've been examining my life quite a bit lately. It started when I decided to take a Comparative Religion class online. It's quite an inclusive lesson plan and I'm on week 7. So far I've read several books about different religions: Bhagavad Gita, The Vedas, Tao Te Ching, The Golden Bough, and KJV Bible. I'm super grateful for eBooks!

 That's not all of the required reading and I still have several more books to go, but it's really helping me see the similarities, as well as the differences, between religions. From what I've read they all want us to treat each other kindly, defend and uplift the weak, be honest, to give proper veneration to Diety/s, and to basically not be dicks. They just use different words and terms to teach us that. I can't wait to read more.
 It's also made me take a hard and long look at my own spirituality, especially reading the KJV. I hadn't read it through since I was a tween and it brought back a lot of memories. I used to love reading it to my frog when I was young and I swear he would pay attention. It was my favorite book in the world and I just about destroyed it through use. When I was 12 it was taken away from me because I had odd views and they weren't understood. They still aren't understood by most.
 I believe that God is female and male, and I prefer the female. I see Her as a loving yet stern mother who is always there for you to talk to, but she expects you to clean up your own mess. If you ask for help She'll give it, but it's often not what you had in mind. I also see Jesus as more of a brother and teacher than a savior. I believe he lived and died for us, but if we don't learn anything form his lessons then it was pointless. He showed the way, but it's up to us to walk the path. Not a popular views to say the least and I got into all sorts of trouble proving it until they took my Bible away. I was quite the annoyance.

I've always had trouble keeping my beak shut.

My life since then has been a Comparative Religion class in and of itself, I just never realized it until I started taking an actual class. I've sat with Buddhists and attended Druid groves. I've gone to Circle meetings with Wiccans and attended Catholic mass. To say I've jumped and journeyed would be a gross understatement.
 Reading the KJV Bible on my phone felt like a strange sort homecoming. If it had never been taken from me I would have never gone exploring. If I hadn't gone exploring I wouldn't be who I am. In a way I'm grateful they took my Bible away now, it gave me the chance to return to Her even though I never really left, I just called Her different names.
I ordered myself a paper Bible. It's the ESV translation and I can't wait to feel the thin paper under my fingers as I read it aloud to my zoo.
If you want to read some of the best poetry though you have to read the The Vedas. The Norsemen really knew how to write!

Rainbows are cool!

I went to my first company meeting on Monday

On Monday we took a field trip to Phoenix for the yearly company meeting. It was a lot of fun and I got to finally meet our web designer. I've been bothering that poor man about a site he's building for one of my clients and it was great to put a face to a name. He was super nice and friendly and I learned a lot from him. I also got to meet the entire Phoenix office and that was great. They seem like a nice bunch, but I'm happy with my office. They even served food so no one went hungry! We're going to be doing a lot of new things in the new year. I'm most excited about the giving back aspect. Each office is encouraged to go out into the community and volunteer. That is going to be a ton of fun and I hope my vote for the Humane Society gets the nod. It's going to be an exciting year!

Who could resist?

On a more irritating note I just got a letter from the IRS. They're disputing my tax return for 2012 and want $1600. I know I put everything in it correctly from my salon, maybe they're not letting me use the nearly $1000 a month rent as a business expense or something.  I'll have to call them tomorrow and find out. Every time I think I'm past the whole salon issue and have finally put it behind me something comes up. If I owe it I will pay it though. I hope they take payments! Then it will be over I hope! The past really does haunt you!

It's coming for me aahhhhh...

I hope you had a GREAT holiday season!

Sorry I skipped a ton of time here! I looked up on New Years Day and went oops! I now have an alarm set to go off on Wednesdays to remind me to post here and on a new blog I just started today Betty's Tarot. I just posted the first one over there and I plan to post to both every week. It's going to be the companion blog to my website sliversofmagick.com. We should have that up and running fully in a couple of days. I never would have guessed how much fun it was to build! I plan to sell card readings there and eventually (once I make more) some of my jewelry. I came up with this idea because I want to make money doing something I love that will actually help people. Something that doesn't involve healthcare.
My sales job is going good, I've have 8 clients and I really like them. I've learned a lot and really love being in sales.  I'm looking forward to getting even more clients this year, but it doesn't pay the bills yet and it won't for a while. I'm probably a bit too picky about who I'll take on, but I don't want to work with butt heads. I had enough of that when I worked as a stylist for CC. I'm still painting and attempting to draw, but I've only sold 4 paintings and I need to clean out my closet before the canvases eat me!
This will be an exciting new adventure in familiar territory for me! If you want to join me please do, and if you don't that's fine too. I plan to keep this blog for my personal life and work stuff.
Thanks!
 Betty

This is what happens when you forget the milk in the batter. 

I got this great cupcake maker for Christmas. It came with recipes to make my own Hostess Cupcakes! I tried to use it and the first batch bubbled out like swamp slime. They still tasted great though! How did you Christmases go?

I Now Have A Client!

I signed my first client yesterday afternoon and it was great! They have the most interesting items for sale, it's like nothing I've ever seen before. They are Anywhere Tactical and they make break down mats that can be used anywhere! I'm going to find out which one to get my brother for Christmas. They brought in samples and these things are really heavy duty. I can't wait to help their business grow! They are also a very nice family and I really enjoyed meeting them and can't wait to see them again! I'm so happy! My first client is great!
It's exciting to be an actual agent now working with Helix House Internet Marketing Agency. The more I learn and study the more I realize that I can really help others live and grow their dreams. We get their name out there and get them exposure that they can't get for themselves. It's a great feeling to finally find a way I can help others without hurting myself. I'm really grateful to have this opportunity.
In photography news I have some photos up in Artworx Studio. I think it would be great to sell a few and if you're in the Tucson, AZ area check them out. As soon as I know when the show officially opens I'm inviting the office to come see, but they're hanging now.
Life is exciting and I can't believe how fast it's moving. It's a really wild ride!
Here's some shots we took at this years Mosey For Mutts. My husband and I were honored to be invited to shoot it! It was great!

Friday Was Our Anniversary!

Friday was our 9th anniversary and we spent the weekend enjoying each others company. On the big day itself we went to a yard sale at the UU church down the street. They had a ton of really great things and I found a couple of really nice old cookbooks and a great book called Leaves Of Gold. I thought it was Walt Whitman because I had it confused with Leaves Of Grass. It's actually a beautiful multi-denomination inspiration book. I also managed to find a couple of sales books and a waffle maker. The people working the sale were so friendly I'm thinking about checking out the services there later this month.
After that we went and took pictures in the nearby park. I had fun trying to wrangle the geese so he could get a good shot and one of them started to follow me. They were loud and cranky about being slow chased by me. I'd left my long lens at home so most of my shots didn't come out the best. I got a lot of duck butts and the like. I'll post some as soon as I finish going through them. By the time we got to the rose garden the light was harsh and it was getting hot so we're going back next weekend.
On Saturday we went to the reptile show and it was packed. There must have been a thousand people there. I didn't get many pics, but I got a stack of business cards that is 2 inches high. I got to see what my Jane will look like when she's full grown and I can't wait! I also got to get several different reptiles and bugs. Sadly my darling husband stopped me from getting a bunny. It was so cute and soft, but he's right that we have enough animals. I did incite several children to pet it and hopefully one of them saved it. I met some great reptile rescuers http://www.sonorandesertreptiles.com. They will definitely be my first call if I run into anything I can't handle. Give them some love if you can so we can get their name out there.
Sunday we stayed home and watched World War Z. It was a good movie, but didn't have as much action as I'd thought it would. The story was engaging though and I can't wait to read the book. It's a scary yet thoughtful movie and was a great way to end our weekend. It was a ton of fun, but now it's time to get back to work!
I hope you all had a great weekend too!

No Sale BUT...

I got a second appointment! He wants to learn more about what we do and he seems very interested! I see him again next Wednesday! My manager was really great about showing me what I needed to do and it really helped me feel more comfortable. I can't wait for the next meeting!

Today is My First Appointment!

Today I get to go out for my first appt. I'm so excited! I hope it goes really well and I can get my first client! Wish me luck!
So far the new job is going well, it's a lot of calling and people saying no though. Yesterday I got two more appts scheduled though so I'm doing great! I just hope I can make them into clients. It's all so new and exciting! I'm really glad I chose this over nasty salon. This is a real adventure.
Now it's back to research so I'm ready for this afternoon!

The future is wide open!