Dec 13, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
PROBING: Harbingers, Cycle Three
I didn’t even mind standing in line at the post office for half an hour. [Ed. Note: totally minded. But it was worth it.]
I knew what the package would be. I knew because the calendar told me it was time for the next Harbingers cycle to arrive. And the calendar is almost never wrong.
As excited as I am to share what I’ve learned so far about the team, this is the part where I tell my mom to stop reading. [Insert sad face here.] No, really. Ma. Back away from the computer. Spoilers coming. All that.
Ready?
Three.
Two.
One.
READ.
The first story in this set is Leviathan by Bill Myers. Told from the perspective of Brenda Barnick, it opens with her and Daniel (remember the quiet ten-year-old she “adopted”) on a turbulent plane, finally landing at LAX and meeting the rest of the team. Insert our peeps into a limo (with a little on-edge action due to their last adventure in The Fog) and we eavesdrop to find out they’re on their way to view a taping of Live Or Die: The Ultimate Reality.
Tank enjoys the sight of the LAX pylons: big, plastic pillars of various sizes that are lit inside with changing colors. He pulls out his phone and pans the limo then the pylons for a neat video.
So. Turns out the influential powers behind The Gate have paid handsomely to have a TV show produced, and for some reason our team is invited to the premiere. The show’s title says it all, and it ain’t no game. It’s a duel to the death on a miniature-sized Colosseum. A young man and woman have a plethora of weapons to attack each other with, and the only rule is the game doesn’t end until one of them dies.
Now, I could go on about the influences of mass media, but I think our own real-world culture is doing a fine job of that at the moment. Our team tries to talk to the producer, but he knows who lines his pockets, and it’s not the good guys. And so, “the show must go on.” Or, “Someone must die.”
Early Spoiler Alert: Tank saves the day. He’s had about enough of this bloodshed and leaps from his seat to stop the final blow. Atta boy, Tank. And with his healing touch, the wounds on the young man are almost all healed. There is no end. There is no death. And the crowd. Is. Mad.
Later, our team finds themselves in the hotel room. Oh, did I forget to mention, during their limo ride, the TV turned itself on and off, showing snippets of movies? So, now Tank (Or “Cowboy,” as Brenda calls him) is trying to watch some football here and the darned TV does the same thing. Movie. Off. Snip. Off. Soundbite. Off. Over and over and over. And the producer, Mr. Anderson [Hey, I wonder if that’s an intended reference to The Matrix?], shows up at the hotel. His cell phone keeps looping a video.
Thing is, the video is the one Tank took in the limo when the TV first started fritzing. And the video’s no longer on Tank’s cell phone. In fact, nothing’s on his phone except one message, in big red letters: Sincerely, S.
And nothing’s on the other peeps’ phones either except the same message. The phones are useless, and the movies keep cycling through.
“Everything’s a pattern. Whether it’s useful or not, there are always patterns.”
But now Andi, my girl who loves to recognize patterns, realizes something. Taking the first letter of each movie, the cycle spells out a word the producer doesn’t understand. But the Team does.
S. R. I. D. H. A. R. Remember him from Cycle One, Book One? The kid who tried to escape The Gate? Boy, this is just getting more and more interesting, isn’t it?
Wait. Forgot to mention something else. Liquid tends to vibrate around Mr. Anderson. #truestory. His Starbuck’s exploded in the TV Media room during the rehearsal. At dinner after his water sloshed out of his glass and onto the floor (but the team’s beverages were untouched). Tank’s soda bubbled up and out just before the producer showed up at the hotel.
Annnnnd I also neglected to tell you, how our team was selected to come to the viewing: Mr. Anderson’s daughter is “like best friends or something” with Helsa, whom we know as Littlefoot from Cycle One.
So our team decides it’s time to clue Anderson in on what they know. He’s not exactly thrilled with what they’re telling him. Puh-leease. Would you?
But then he proffers his own opinion: The plastic, colorful pillars Tank was so thrilled with at the airport are connected to the show. And The Gate.
Well, I’m halfway through the book now, and it’s bedtime so I guess I should leave you hanging. It’s taken me maybe two hours to read and write this and I want would like need to find out what happens before I catch my Zzz’s.
On that happy note, I bid you a fond review.
With a bookmark and a reading light,
Happy reading!
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
Dec 12, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Last month I shared my new love for DoTerra Essential Oils. Since receiving my kit, I’ve been watching videos, taking online oil camp classes, and going to meetings to learn as much as I can. It sounds like a lot, but really it’s just another fun networking opportunity. Less than twenty minutes a day is all it takes to focus on one oil or blend, and learn the many ways it can be used.
In the past several years, I’ve learned to make bath scrubs, lip balm, soothing oil blends, and many other items. And who can forget SuperGirl’s recipe for lavender bath salts?
Just before I signed up last month, I went to a class on wellness. As we were leaving, our hostess gave each of us a small pine cone that looked more like flower, and asked which oils we’d like. She put a few drops of Elevation (a mood lifter) and Arborvitae (a purifying oil) on my cone and I left in my car for weeks. It was my own little air freshener without artificial fragrances.
See what I mean? Endless possibilities.
This past weekend I found these adorable jars shaped like beehives, so of course This Girl had to get them, right?! I think it goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway here) that I also grabbed up a box of epsom salts and smiled all the way home.
Here’s how easy it is to make a soothing bath soak: One cup epsom salts. Ten drops oil. For. Realz.
And the beautiful part is that you can blend several oils together. I like to choose complimentary oils to boost the effects. I made two separate salts. I like to call them my Bee Good to Myself Bath Salts.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Soothing Bath Soaks with Essential Oils
The DoTerra blends of OnGuard and Serenity offer a relaxing aroma while purifying and sanitizing the local environment, offering protection against stress and illness.
AromaTouch and Breathe combine to open the airways and allow for peaceful breathing, giving relief to stressful holiday moments.
The oils can also be diffused, used topically (use a drop or two of fractionated coconut oil to enhance the absorption).
In the salts, just add the drops to the epsom salts, stir, and let sit. Add half a jar (or all of it) to warm running water for an aromatic and soothing bath.
Yup. It’s really all that simple. And really all that beneficial.
And because they’re so easy and inexpensive, they make great gifts.
How do you like to give the gift of relaxation through the holidays? [To others and yourself!]
With a peaceful heart and a happy house,
Happy Holidays!
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
Dec 11, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
It’s no secret I love nutcrackers. The music. The dolls. The ballet. The magic.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : The History of the Nutcracker
My collection ranges from a Steinbach wine maker nutcracker to a two-foot tall soldier guarding my fireplace to a two-inch tall onlooker at my work desk. With over fifty to date, I’ve yet to meet a nutcracker I haven’t liked. The diversity of their characteristics and embellishments are delightful.
My fascination grew from my love of the ballet. The classical music, the dance, Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Many years ago during one of my stints of unemployment, I happened upon a wonderful collection of nutcrackers at WalMart. They were nutcrackers fashioned after, well, The Nutcracker. There was blonde Clara, the Mouse King, the Nutcracker Prince, and my favorite: Uncle Drosselmeyer. At just $10 each, it wasn’t a terrible investment, but I couldn’t bring myself to get them. I remember telling my family how lovely they were.
Fast-forward about 36 hours and I couldn’t get them out of my head. The thing was, remember, I was still unemployed. It was about a month before Christmas and I knew if I waited patiently the store might run out before my next check came. So I stopped in at my mom’s house and asked cried begged to borrow the money so I could get them. She went into the other room which I thought was strange because it wasn’t the room she usually keeps her purse in. I heard a closet open and close, and she returned to me with a box.
Do I really have to finish this statement for y’all?
Not only did she get the four Nutcracker nutcrackers, she provided two soldier nutcrackers to guard them as well. And thus my collection began.
That was about ten years ago, and I’ve received several new nutcrackers every year since. [With fifty in the collection, that’s a duh statement!]
Nutcrackers as a tool have been around since ancient Greece. The tools resembled modern pliers or ratchets. In Victorian ages, nuts and fruits were presented on ornate trays with silver nutcrackers.
The figurative carvings have been around since the mid-15th Century. Their popularity grew toward the end of the 19th Century when the Swiss began to sell them as souvenirs. They are as symbol of luck in Germany (where Steinbachs are made).
They became popular in the US after the first US production of The Nutcracker ballet in 1940, during World War II, and as soldiers discovered the dolls.
The dolls are based on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet, which premiered December 18, 1892. It has become one of his most renown works, celebrated and performed mostly at Christmastime, which is why the dolls are also celebrated this time of year more than any other.
Tchaikovsky had previously partnered with Marius Petipa on The Sleeping Beauty. Petipa asked Tchaikovsky to write The Nutcracker ballet with great specifics. It was based on an adaptation of “The Nutcracker and The Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Petipa instructed Tchaikovsky as to the tempo and length of each segment. The result is his masterpiece.
The Nutcracker music is featured in many holiday movies, events, produced in theatres worldwide, and referenced in many pieces of literature.
As I write this, I have the Baryshnikov Ballet performance on the TV for inspiration. I would like to say The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies is my favorite. But I’d be lying. They all are. From Clara’s dream to the Mouse King nightmare to Uncle Drosselmeyer (again).
What’s your favorite version of The Nutcracker?
With a bowl of nuts and sweets to dream,
Happy Dancing!
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
Dec 10, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Frankly, On Faith.
I hate when there’s so much information coming at me that things get lost in translation. Too many people talking at once, too many this-that-and-the-other-thing. A lot of jumping ahead and jumping ship.
That’s when I put up my hands. Whoa. Stop. I can’t keep up.
Take it slower. Take it one bite at a time.
Start at the beginning.
Get the story to me, completely, in a way I can understand it.
And when we’re halfway through what I should know, but don’t, let’s do it again:
Reverse. Start at the beginning. Reaffirm what I do know. Help me learn what I don’t. And move forward.
Inch by inch. Stepping stone by stepping stone.
Learning is not a bullet. It’s a cha-cha.
We can do the same with God.
Whether you’ve just met Him or known Him all your life, we can always ask for more information. We can revisit lessons we’ve been taught to see what new insights He reveals. We can pray in basic terms. We can tell Him, “I should know this, but right now it’s not making sense. Will you help me?” And He will.
Life comes at us full force and if we’re not secure it can blow us down and send us tumbling.
That’s when we can step back and ask God to show us how to tie the ropes to Him. How to man the ship so we don’t capsize. How to strengthen and rebuild the necessary foundations for ourselves and our people.
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
~John 14:1 NLT
We can always relearn and reaffirm what we were previously taught.
Just like watching a favorite movie, singing a favorite song, or reading a favorite book, when we turn to God again and again, we can get more out of it if we focus on it instead of just going through repetitive motions.
Don’t become complacent in the familiar. Don’t let the media of God’s word play in the background for a distraction. Sit. Pay attention as if you are just now discovering Him and His word.
You can learn something new, even by revisiting an old lesson.
Franky, On Faith: Start at the Beginning. As many times as it takes.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . : That’s all she wrote!
Dec 9, 2017 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Social Media Saturday
So you noticed today’s post is late in the evening again. You may not even be reading this until Sunday.
No, I didn’t fall back into old procrastination habits or forget due to other events (although the last three days of consecutive Christmas parties has been a blast!). No, I did it on purpose.
I intentionally gave myself last night and today be social- wait for it- in the real world. I know! *gasp* I can hardly believe it myself.
Now I know some of you are thinking, “well, duh. You need that connection every now and then.” And others are thinking, “She must have a fever or something.”
Truth is, I needed to kick back with my peeps, raise my eyes from the keyboards and just hang out. And in the end, it was beneficial because the networking I did offline (is that even a real thing?) has opened up opportunities for future ventures, squared away plans for Blue Ridge, and allowed me to recharge the social batteries.
It’s okay to not do everything every day. It’s okay to relax and time for yourself in ways you don’t normally do.
Now I’m home with woolly socks, cat cuddles, some hot tea, and The West Wing. Hey, I didn’t say you had to stop all habits.
With a smile and a wave and an in-person hug,
Happy relaxing!
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
