Our great friend's Chris and Sheryl got married today. You may remember them from one of our Top Ten Tuesday. During their wedding ceremony they had a great hand fasting ritual. It was truly beautiful so I wanted to share it with you. 
Handfasting wedding ceremonies are Celtic wedding rituals. It involves the tying of hands together to symbolize the coming together and remain tied together.
1 Comment
Hello all I just had to stop in and do this post. Kristina and I were talking today about some funny stories we have including the one where during class she tried to draw a picture of Uncle Sam with a penis. Yes that is right I said it a PENIS. That story will be for later this week when I can get the best pictures for it. However when we got back Kristina got her 3rd tattoo and of course made some really funny face and that made me think of the funny faces she makes all the time. I just had to stop in and give you all a laugh. Lots of love! *Amanda* Don’t forget to come back often as we are updating with all new fabulous thing that you don’t want to miss.                I remember the day I met Kristina. I would love to tell you about how awesome and cool I was as I strolled into practice for cheer leading tryouts but that would be a lie. Here is what really happened. The year was 1995 and I have recently moved to a small town to live with my mom, and I mean small town. Population 1900 people, no malls or stores to speak of and I was very nervous. I was about to start my freshman year of high school and I wanted to try out for football cheer leading. There I was at the first practice and I didn’t know anyone. To top it off no one said anything to me so I signed up got a paper with the cheers to learn and was off on my way. I was waiting for one of our farm workers to pick me up and as we drove out of the parking lot I saw a blond haired girl smile and wave at me. I was so shocked and happy. To make a long story short I made the cheer leading squad and didn’t see this girl again until a week before school started. I was at a fundraiser for basketball cheer leading and there she was. I was so excited to see her again and find out her name. She saw me and instantly smiled and said “How are you?” I smiled and started talking and I said “I am so sorry but I can’t remember your name.” She smiled and said oh it’s Krimoomhaha. I swear that is what I heard her say. I had no idea how to ask her again so I figured I would ask someone else later. Honestly I was really freaked out because she had a wondering eye and one of her eyes was looking at me and the other was looking at something way behind me.  A week later we started school and when I went into my 4th period class there she was sitting and smiling. When she saw me she was like “Come sit by me” and so I did almost knocking down a student in the process with my backpack. She called me by name so I could not tell her I didn’t know her name. I figured I would play it by ear since someone would have to say her name eventually. Then in came the teacher from Hell who figured that even high school student should have assigned seats. She looked at me and said “Hey what is your last name?” I said “Graham” and she was so excited. She said “oh good mine is hunt so maybe we will get placed by each other.” I figured well I know part of her name now lol. Then it happened the teacher said Kristina Hunt and she got up and went to sit in her assigned seat. We didn’t end up sitting next to each other then but it was the start of a great friendship.  The reason I am telling you this story is a lot of times in life if something in uncomfortable we don’t bother to find out anymore about it. Lets say if this were to happen now at the age of 30 I would either have moved on figuring I didn’t have the time to know this weird eye person or I would be like “Shit what in the hell is your name?” Both of these I would imagine would not become long lasting friendships so next time you come on to something that makes you uncomfortable sit back and think what would the 15 year old in me do right now? You might surprise yourself.  OK so I know this like most of my post will sound funny but as always there is a great story to go along with it. This story involves my friendship with Kristina and how cool she really is. OK picture it the year is 1995 I had braces and spit a lot and she had purple hair. Yes it really was that bad. Anyway to start off I should tell you that I have a hearing disability that I was born with and I only have 13% hearing in my left ear. As a kid this was horrible as I had to wear hearing aids and different devices in school and everyone always looked at me like I was weird. Now this maybe because I was also talking to myself but that is for another time. Well Kristina knew I couldn’t hear well and NEVER made fun of me or even made me feel like I had a disability. She was awesome she even invented this game where I would lay down with my right ear covered and she would speak and I would repeat what I thought she was saying. Which was for the most part always wrong, an example would be like this…. Amanda lying on right ear with eyes closed Kristina giggling while thinking of something to say “I love to eat pickles” say Kristina “I am a dove with a Popsicle” Amanda says Anyway you get the idea. This went on for years and I always found the game just as funny as Kristina did. Then one day she heard me telling this story to someone else and with the horrified look on their face we both realized this might not seem funny to other people. OK one more thing before I go, Kristina also cant see very well and that is putting it nicely causes lets face it this girl is BLIND BLIND BLIND and I mean so blind that if she takes out her contacts and your standing in front of her holding and orange she will knock you over trying to figure out how the orange is floating in mid air. This is because she can see colors and oddly nothing else. You can probably imagine the fun we have with each other. Lots of love! *Amanda* Don’t forget to come back often as we are updating with all new fabulous thing that you don’t want to miss.   We have a very special guest post today from the lovely Melissa Placzek. She is one of my favorite authors, and I am honored to call her one of my friends as well! She wrote two darling books that are a constant source of inspiration to me: Chin Deep in Bubbles and Welcome Home. You can also read more of her wonderful writing on her blog: ChinDeep As with our first two wonderful guest bloggers, Melissa has written about her sacred place for us. Enjoy!!! ~~Kristina  Where is my sacred place? I sort of struggled with answering this question because even though I knew the answer, I was reluctant to submit a sad article. Then I realized, this is my truth, and that's what The Sacred Village is all about. Right? So, here goes. My first inclination was to write about the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. It has been a special place for me since childhood when my parents would pack whatever junker car we owned at the time to the brim with overnight bags, mismatched towels, pillows, kids and food. We would make the three hour trek from the Twin Cities to a cabin "Up North." It was always fun and special to go hang out at the big lake. We went almost every year when I was growing up. Those memories hold so much nostalgia and happiness for me. Then in 1987, the summer I was 16, my best friend (also my boyfriend) Dan, got into a horrible motorcycle accident only a few minutes after leaving my house. We had plans later that evening, but the hour he was suppose to arrive came and went and I couldn't understand why he hadn't called me. Then the phone rang. It was his dad telling us that Dan was in the ICU at Ramsey Hospital and that he was in a coma. I went to visit him every day during that next week, but Dan didn't recover. He passed away August 26th, 1987. Overwrought with a sadness I had never experienced before, I clearly remember thinking, "So this is what it feels like to get older." And although I couldn't see a change on my face when I looked in the mirror, no wrinkles or grey hairs had appeared, something on the inside of me had changed forever. I suddenly had the urgent awareness that I would not always be young. Everything, at all times, is in a constant state of flux. This felt like a little more wisdom than I wanted at 16, but I have to admit that this realization "It's later than you think" (Socrates) has served me well as an adult. It's the reason I'm not a procrastinator. It's the reason I have two books published. Honestly, it's the reason I've accomplished almost everything I've accomplished. After Dan died, the only place I could think of that I wanted to be was sitting on a big rock high above that Lake. So, instead of attending the funeral, my mom took me to Lake Superior so I could begin to heal. And I did. Nowadays my husband and I take our girls up to the North Shore at least every other year. Whenever I see the first signs of shoreline through the trees I can feel my body sigh. It still has the same calming effect. Like a balm for my soul. Since I've gotten a little older I've realized that, for me, a sacred place doesn't necessarily have to be a geographical location. It doesn't mean I have to pack up the car so we can drive to a place where my spirit will feel that state of rest. As special to me as the North Shore is, my sacred place is a place I carry with me in my heart. I can draw upon this whenever I need it. It's watching the fireflies dance in my back yard at night, it's waiting for me on the front porch for me when I step out the front door in the morning sipping my first cup of tea, it's by the shore of the river while watching the sun set, it's on a bench by a fountain, it's in the presence of my best friends and family, holding hands with my husband, hugging my girls, baking bread, taking photographs, gardening. It's here at my desk as I write this to you. One of the definitions of sacred is: "Things and actions set apart as religious or spiritual which are entitled to reverence." I love that. Life itself is entitled to this level of reverence, don't you think? I want to experience this sacredness every day. To live my life deliberately, like a prayer. Love, Melissa  Rhonda is an amazing woman who I just adore and she has written a blog post about her sacred place. Thanks so much Rhonda.   A sacred place. I believe everyone has one. A quiet moment in your busy office, the back porch on a beautiful day, a place of worship, or even just a specific room in your home you enjoy time in. Everyone's place is different, some even have more than one depending what is happening in their lives. For myself, I've had a few select spots over the years but one always speaks home to me. Growing up in the country had it's good and bad positions. There were still nosy neighbours from time to time and since we lived on an old highway, too many people still drove it as such. 23 years of living with what felt like an endless expanse of wooded area behind my house fully made up for it though. I could wander out into the trees (occasionally being sure I wore bright colors as some of those neighbours thought it was open game during hunting seasons...) and feel at home, like I had never left my front step. The trees whispered to me, the ground smelled of it's earthy intentions, and I was easily at peace. This was one of the ways I first felt my pull towards Wicca and began serious study of it as I grew older. There are so many memories locked away in those woods as well. My best friend lived barely 20 minutes down the road and had the same attitude towards the forest as I did, so we traveled it often and probably made fools of ourselves too many times to count. I miss that carefree way of life. Having nothing better to do than to take a walk into the woods, knowing I'd never get lost. I look outside my window today at the slat fencing and pavement and feel lost. I feel the connection to Mother Earth, Gaia, growing weak. Luckily for me, my parent's still live there so I can visit my beautiful forest and my fiance wants to live in the country just as much as I do. I only hope that one day my children will also have such a place to call home.  Please go read her blog and check out her button on the side.
Hello everyone today we went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants here is our local small town. We were eating and laughing. We were discussing our website and all the super cool ideas we have for it when out of no where Kristina looks up and is like "WHOA What in the hell is that?" I looked up and sure enough there is a figurine of a bull. Now let me tell you that this restaurant has a rodeo theme so horses and bulls and sombreros are not surprising to see. However this bull was "Special" I will show you why...   However its not as easy to see when taken by my cell phone but you get the idea. LOL
|   Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods  ArchivesJanuary 2012   CategoriesAll           |
RSS Feed