Samhain Blessings

I know I've been an absent blogger in the month of October.  Work has been quite stressful and I'm hoping the stress will subside this week.  I did want to pop on and wish everyone a Blessed Samhain and a Happy Witch's New Year. 

I miss you readers!

And the winner is . . .

I'm so sorry for the delayed posting about the giveaway winner.  I didn't expect to be so busy this weekend!

So, I put all the names into my magic caldron

and closed the lid to shake up the teenie strips of paper with my wand.

And the magic caldron revealed our winner!

The winner is Penny from Palaver from Pellie & Ghengis Khat!  Congratulations!  Please e-mail me at greenwillowofthewoods AT gmail DOT com with your name and mailing information.  Thank you so much to everyone who entered!  I look forward to the next giveaway with all of you.  If any of you have a shop online (or in the real world) that you would like to promote, please feel free to e-mail me at the address above with your information and the item you'd like to give away.

The Countdown to Samhain

Thank the Goddess and the God for October!  September seemed to take forever and I'm happy that the days are closer and closer to Samhain and Hallowe'n - my favorite time of year!  My friends and I have each and every weekend packed with fun fall activities and tomorrow is no exception.  We'll be heading to the Headless Horseman in Ulster County, NY.  I've never been to this particular attraction before, so I'm really looking forward to it.

And . . . tomorrow is the last day to enter my first giveaway!  Get your entries in now!  There are multiple ways to put in extra entires so if you've already put your name in once, put your name in a few more times!

Plus, remember to stop by Mrs. B's Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom for the 31 Days of Halloween.

Wandering Around House Shopping

The hubby and I looked at 8 houses around Long Island today and both of our heads are spinning.  I'm hoping to be out of my parent's house by my birthday in November.  We saw some houses that have potential and then some that just needed a bulldozer.  Part of me feels like I'm going to be stuck with my parents forever and I'm growing more and more resentful of their meddling nature. 

Here's my main issue: I hate the town I grew up in.  I'm tolerating this place while I live with my parents and the hubby and I save for our own home.  I'm grateful that my parents are doing us this huge favor.  I know I have it real easy right now, especially since we do not have to pay any rent.  However, my parents don't understand my utter loathing of this town and my need to escape it as fast as possible.  It's caused quite a few fights in the past few days and now my father and I are not even speaking.  They've basically backed my husband and I into a corner and are pushing this, excuse my French, shithole house onto us.  It's a great deal but you need another $150K to fix it up and make it liveable.  Let's just say animals have dug through the roof and there is black mold in the upstairs.  It's awful.  But they keep repeating over and over, "It's a great deal.  It's going for $100-200K less than other houses in the town. Blah blah blah."  No matter how many times I tell them, "I hate it here and I never want to live here/raise a family here," they keep pushing.  I understand the great school district (my husband works for them).  I understand.  I get it.  It's not what I want.  It's everything I don't want. 

But in other news, I'm getting a lot of great feedback/comments about the giveaway!  However, I wanted everyone to know that The Fairy Apothecary is not my shop!  I wish it were but I cannot take credit for the wonderful work my friend Kristin does.  I do help her out from time to time at craft shows but all of the work is done in her Fairy Den in Upstate New York.  Also, if I could make your screens scratch and sniff I would!  All of her soaps smell amazing!  My personal favorite is Love Spell.  I've used all of her products, so feel free to ask me about any of them.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

A Fur Baby and the Hubby

Look how cuddly they're being!   

My hubby doesn't look to pleased about me taking his photo . . .

My first giveaway, featuring The Fairy Apothecary

It's finally here!  I was originally going to wait until I had 100 followers but The Fairy Apothecary had too many great things for fall to pass this up.  Plus, this giveaway is in honor of Sally's Bath Product Shop for The Practical Magic Blog Party.

So, who/what is The Fairy Apothecary?  She is also known as the Bath Fairy and she creates amazing hand make soaps, lotions and other bath enchantments out of her basement studio in Upstate New York.  The Bath Fairy draws her inspiration from the colors, sights and smells of the natural world and, of course, that wonderful feeling people get during and after a wonderfully relaxing or invigorating bath or shower experience.  All of her soaps and lotions are made from all natural materials, including goat's milk and shea butter (which is organic and fair trade).

The Fairy Apothecary and I are giving away fall scented, leaf shaped soaps.  They are infused with the spicy scents of fall and just having them in my house makes me long for Samhain and Halloween.

So, how do I enter?

Giveaway Requirements

•  Have an blog accessible through your user name or leave an email address with each entry.
• Have a mailing address within the United States, United Kingdom or Canada
• Visit The Fairy Apothecary's Etsy store , come back here and leave a comment about your favorite item.
• All entries must be submitted by midnight on October 2nd

  

Extra Chances to Win! (You must leave a separate comment for each extra entry)

• 1 entry each
• Post about this giveaway on your own personal blog
• Become a follower of this blog
• Become a follower of Wandering in the Woods on Facebook 
• Become a follower of Wandering in the Woods on Twitter
• Become a follower of The Fairy Apothecary's Blog
• Become a follower of The Fairy Apothecary on Twitter 
• Tweet about this giveaway on your own Twitter account (one tweet per day - leave a comment for each tweet)

Special Notes:

• If your blogger profile is set to private, I will be unable to find your blog or email via your profile.  If there is no email address in your comments, and your blogger profile is private, your entries DO NOT count.
• Entries submitted in one comment posting will only count as one entry
• If you're reading these Special Notes, enter a comment with simply the word "soap" for an extra chance to win!
• Spam or comments with links unrelated to the giveaway will not be counted as an entry
• Please submit all entries in English

Woah.

It's been a long two weeks.  Last week was Open House and I'm running the clock and scoreboards for both the JV and Freshman boys soccer teams as well as going to Graduate school Tuesday nights.  Friday night was the hubby's cousin's wedding, Saturday was the family brunch and then we were off to Windham Mountain for the Warrior Dash on Sunday.  This week, was more timing on top of my wonderful sinus infection.  I finally broke down yesterday and went to the doctor.  I was also an insane person and I worked out for an hour after going to the doctor.  Part of me was hoping to sweat the illness out of me.  The Z-pack has kicked in a little bit but my ears are still popping like crazy and I feel the ickiness in my head swishing around.

I'm still a little upset that I was too sick to doing anything for Mabon or the Harvest moon on the blog or even personally.  Tomorow is the Practical Magic Blog Party and I'm going to infuse it with Mabon/Fall goodies, including . . .

My very first give-a-way!

Look for more information tomorrow afternoon.

Photo located here.

While I fight off this awful cold

If you've been following the Facebook page for my blog, you may have heard about the Green Witch's adventures at the Warrior Dash this past weekend.  I wanted to share the end of the race with you.

The Last Obstacle: The Mud Moat 

- photo by the hubby

Me (on left) and my muddy friends

- photo by the hubby

I'm feeling a little better this evening.  I will (hopefully) be posting some Mabon activities, prayers and rituals later tonight and/or tomorrow. 

I've been sick

It's that time again.  I always catch a cold during the first few weeks of school as it is a petri dish of germs.  I'll be back to posting within the next few days.  Thanks for your patience! 

Image found here

Monday Mutterings: Personal Poetry

I wrote this this past winter about the man I thought I was going to marry.  I ended up with a wonderful husband who is worth my worship and praise.

“Worshiping the Boy”

Holding onto
                       frivolous
promises made
                                               love
       underneath the
       gaze of the
                                         m o o n l i g h t
                drawn
                to her
                                        mind less banter
       for the child
       who is
                                       name less worry
                 for the girl
                 who lost her
                                                         self
worth less in the
              
eyes of the
                boy who
                              raped her
senses with
flippant oaths
                written
                      on
                          the
                              m o o n s t o n e.