Today we are introducing another of our specialized days of the week. Top Ten Tuesday! We have done a few top ten lists and they have been pretty popular, so we decided to make it a regular feature! Today we have Top Ten Things you Shouldn't buy at a Thrift Store!
I should warn you... I wanted to edit the pictures to make them look Vintage-y. In the process I discovered a fun feature where I could ad stickers to the pictures.... and I went a little crazy! But I was having a LOT of fun doing it!
 Number 10:
Vintage Ties!
They only look retro cool because they are the best of the worst... take them home and you will see how truly hideous they are!
 Number 9:
A walker!
Well Amanda said this was a walker, but I tried to convince her that... hmmm.. it was actually something else!
But either way... don't buy one that somebody has donated.... I mean... think about where this has been!!!!
PS The blue bow was added to cover a gratuitous cleavage shot that we didn't think you were ready for yet! I figure you want to get to know us better before we get to that! ;)
 Number 8:
Doily.... thingys!
'Nough said!
 Number 7:
I'm not sure what this thing is... but we don't think you should buy it!
It does however remind me of this next picture:
 And yes, this is the face she would make if she won a title! :)
 Number 6:
A giant skinny candle on a stick. Well it actually looks like a roman candle. Not exactly Candle Light Dinner material!
PS The stogie is totally fake lol
 Number 5:
A creamer container that is supposed to look like radishes but actually looks like....
well you can see it too!
 Number 4:
Chuckie's mistress!
Since I aged the picture you can't see how bad the doll really looks... but picture the creepy doll from True Blood this season! You don't want this girls guardian spirit following you home!
 Number 3:
Ugly T-shirts!
They were donated for a reason people... leave them there!
 Number 2:
Anything that causes you to pour something you are supposed to drink from the mouth of an animal!
I'm sorry.. it's just weird!
PS: She looked like she was getting cold so I thought I would warm her up with a little hat! :)
 AND.... Number 1:
This is what Harry Potter would look like..
If he wore Gold Lame.
Which he shouldn't!
And you shouldn't either!
Thank you for joining us for Top 10 Tuesday! Come back again for more fun!
XOXO
~~~~Kristina
Only 16 more days to the Grand Opening of the Sacred Village!
There is a sacred space for villagers, with infinite space to tell all and share all, with unlimited consideration for all.
There is a neighborhood where everything you share is sacred. Where you can tell about your good days and bad and have lots of compassion from your fellow villagers.
The Sacred Village is that place!
Your fellow villagers are patiently waiting for you to join and your place in the village is being held.The Sacred Village has many parts to it. You will find a Forum (the Village) with many different villages to follow such as a place for new mommy's, parenting advice, business expertise, crafty section, a special village designed just for complaining and getting our your frustrations.
You will find amazing e-courses like ‘Selling 101’, ‘How to Please Your Lover’, ‘Plus size IS Sexy’, ‘Great Ways to Organize Your Next Vacation’, and so on.
There will be great e-books on amazing authors and amazing women, and a book to enjoy with your children as you meet TiTi the amazing Leprechaun girl has she finds her magic powers.
There will be a place to find your horoscopes and many more exciting things to come. Your Sacred Village membership will include all of the following:
- Top 10 e-courses (value: $500)
- 2 e-books (value: $40)
- Any other e-courses and e-books that we create
- Over 10 powerful discussion & connection groups
- Horoscopes
- Access to online events and much much more
Over $500 worth of goods & assets for personal development & inspiration and a full year of The Sacred Village discussion forum access for just $80!Ready to have your own sacred village? Your Sacred Village membership is $80 USD and includes all of our e-courses, e-books, and a full year’s access to the virtual village.
For those who want to join the circle but can't make the full payment at once, we offer the option to pay in three payments of $35 USD every 4 months.
We have been doing a series of posts where we ask our guest bloggers to tell us about their sacred places. It is my turn to share with you about mine.
In order to tell you about it, I have to start a bit farther back in my spiritual journey.
I grew up LDS.* I am not a member of the church anymore, but it serves as a very important part in the development of who I am. Growing up, the places that were holy, and required reverence were many. Churches, Sunday dinner, family occasions, and many more. The places that were sacred, were not nearly as common. The Temple is sacred.
 The Salt Lake City, Utah Temple, courtesy of LDS.org There are 144 LDS Temples throughout the world. These are sacred places that members of the church go to, regularly if possible, or as a pilgrimage much like Muslims going to Mecca. These buildings are breathtakingly beautiful, and painstakingly built to exacting specifications, to represent the highest craftsmanship and honor of the LDS church. It is a privilege to go into these temples, and a reverence of the highest degree is expected when you enter.
Upon leaving the LDS church, and finding a new path in the world, I found myself lacking in places that felt sacred to me.
But then I began to understand sacred to mean something totally different. Where before, sacred meant something I could rarely experience, and only in a specific place, I now know that I can find sacredness anyplace, at any time if I will only allow myself.
Sacred was a feeling of quiet reflection, lack of outside interference, and beautiful, rarely seen surroundings. Sacred now is a feeling of love, happiness, peace, and a fullness in my heart. The moments when I look at those I love are the most sacred ones to me. The feelings that wash over me when I hold my son, or when I see my best friend's beautiful baby twins learning to stand and walk. It is also the feeling of my breath being pulled from me, as if by the moon and the tides, when I look at the ocean.
 The smell of my son when he is fresh out of the bath.  The look of laughter when we finally say UNCLE to a tickle fight!  The look of happy delirium and amazement on her face when her twins arrived safely.  The joy of a day spent with my siblings  The sweetness of my brand new baby boy  The wonder of watching the twins grow bigger every day  An afternoon with my books and something delicious to drink  The Ocean that takes my breath away Just as these pictures were hard for me to pick from the hundreds I have saved, it is hard for me to pick out the moments in my life that are sacred. Because there are so many. The feeling of sacredness, now, is a moment when I stop and step outside of what is ordinary, and experience the fullness of a moment. The fullness of my life. When I look at those people and things that I love, and simply allow myself to feel that love. That is my sacred place!
* I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone who is LDS, or to the LDS church. There are many wonderful things about the LDS religion, and many wonderful people who belong to it. It simply isn't for me. My personal experiences do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or intents of the LDS church as a whole. They simply represent my experience with it.
I love this word. It is so beautiful to say, and so peaceful. It is full of acceptance. You have probably heard this word, as it is used in yoga practice. It is also a common greeting in India. Translated it means something like:
“The God in me greets the God in you.
The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you.”
In other words, it recognizes the equality of all, and pays honor to the sacredness of all.
This to me sums up everything about what The Sacred Village means to us. We want this to be a place where the spirits inside of each of us can acknowledge and embrace the spirits inside all of you, and vice versa. We may not all have the same faith, and we may practice it very differently, but it makes them no less meaningful. My faith is very different from that of my family, and my upbringing. But that doesn’t take away from the respect I have for it, as it is part of my past. To me, the beliefs may now seem foreign and maybe even silly, but that doesn’t detract from the faith of the believers.
My mother, for example, once told me that she believed we wouldn’t be together forever, because I am not of the same faith. She didn’t say this to be mean or hurtful. She said it because she believes it to be true, and it makes her sad. If she believes with all her heart that that is true, and didn’t even try to convert me back to her faith, then how much could she really love me? The fact that she reaches out to me is only a testament, not only to her faith, but to her love for me as well.
We may look at each other like we are aliens at times because our differences are so significant on the surface. But if we allow the spirit inside of us to reach out and acknowledge the spirit in others, then we are all speaking the same language.
Namaste
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.
 My Sacred Place
Almost everybody has a sacred place. It can be a corner of the house, where candles are lit and prayers are chanted when the mind is in solemn silence. Or it can be the special state of mind when the rest of the world is suspended between the here and there, to celebrate life as the gift the Goddess gently gave us. Or it can be something else, varying from person to person on a fair diversity amid the billion people living in this planet.
I have a physical sacred place. It’s the Imperial Museum Garden downtown. It’s an old friend for a very long time, since my early teenage years. I have always been there when I need to feel physically connected to the Gods. There are dozens of ancient trees. Huge, gorgeous trees that invite everyone to feel, to rest leaning our backs against their trunks, and breathing the pure, special air that seems to only exist into that garden. I can’t remember how many times I went to there to restore my energies, to recharge my soul when times were hard to live. How many times I sit there on my favorite stone bench to read a book, forgotten about the world around me. Many people pass by the long, narrow paths along the garden, but only a few really enjoy it. Of course there is the Museum waiting to be visited, but it always amazed me that these people prefer to walk in a hurry taking careless photos without really seeing the beauty of the place. How not to notice the beautiful flora variety and peaceful surroundings? Beats me.
Many times I said a silent prayer asking to guidance while walking among those trees, and many times I thanked the Goddess for the simple fact of being alive.
The best part about it all? Now I have my own little witch, my 7 years old son, who learned to love and enjoy as deeply as I do, to walk, relax and have fun when visiting my sacred place – which became his as well.
To read more by the amazing Nydia please check out her blog.
I know, I know, you have already been welcomed... but guess what? Not by me!
I am Kristina... the Lumptuous* lady who can be seen in a sombrero in the previous post! I have been busy behind the scenes and haven't stopped by to write yet.
This website is very very close to my heart, and Amanda's too! We came together on the idea one day driving three hours and getting lost somewhere, on an ordinary day that turned out to be extraordinary. Amanda had mentioned to me a few days before that she had this great idea for us but she would tell me when we were on our drive, because we rarely get uninterrupted adult time! Naturally I was on pins and needles wondering what it was! All the time I was also thinking very intently about my own blog, and life direction, and what to do and where to go, etc etc etc.
Then she says, I want us to do something together. She started talking, I started talking, and a few hours later, a fully formed idea was born and we had chosen a name. Truth be told, the name took us the longest. The ideas flowed so naturally, and we really wanted a name that would as well.
The idea of a village came to us because we have both believed for many years that your flesh and blood family are not the only ones who make up meaningful parts of your life. We are not related at all, and yet we are closer than sisters. She was holding my hand the day I found out I was pregnant, and I was holding her hand when she found out that her surprise pregnancy was... surprise...twins! Our lives are forever intertwined, and we depend on each other. It really does take a village.... and she is a huge part of mine!
We want to give to the world a place that we share. A place where you can talk about anything, your hopes, dreams, fears, and desires, all without fear of being laughed at or judged. And so, The Sacred Village was born. Please come back again and often so we can share this labor of our love with you!
XOXO
Kristina ~~
Check out the column to the right and follow us, find us online, or signup to receive posts by email! We have so many exciting things in the works and we don’t want you to miss any of it!
* Lumptuous - ie, a word combining lumpy and luscious... meaning... I may have a fat ass, but I've got sex appeal and sass!
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