The poll is up

My story is number 12. Number 13 is pretty good too. Not sure who I'll vote for. I always vote once for myself (so I don't feel pathetic if I get no votes) and once for someone else. I can accomplish this by voting from home and from work. Trollop with a Laptop

Lessons Learned

Lesson of the Day: When looking at personal ads online as research for a story, do NOT look at your own area... it's awkward when you find people you recognize.

I feel wiser for the experience though.

MP and BB

Good Morning

Let's see.... this has been a good week. I went to Youngsville on Wednesday and got my hair permed again by my wonderful Aunt Ann. So now it's extra curly and bouncy and it makes my happy. I also contributed a story to Alison Tyler's latest contest. Her poll will be up later today. For my friends, my story is How I Became a Screamer. This is a completely fictional account, because as anyone who has ever lived with me knows, I've always been a screamer. So please go, and vote for me.

Next week, we have a weight loss contest starting at work. It's based on the biggest Loser, so the prize is for the biggest percentage of weight lost. There's also an individual competition for logging your exercise activities. The prize is $500, which would be split between my team of 3 people. We decided to call our team the Mama Miias, because Heather and I will be using our Wii Fits to work out a lot.

The new car is running great, maybe I will take a picture of it this weekend and put it up. I don't know if it will be tonight though, because they are calling for thunderstorms. It's already hot and sticky out this morning.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Good Morning!

It's been awhile. I really need to do this more often. I spend too much time updating my facebook status, and my myspace status, and my Twitter status, to blog lately it seems. I am still working out on my Wii Fit, I worked out 4 days last week. I worked out last night too. I made myself stop halfway through hula-hooping though because I felt like I was going to be sick. It's important to listen to your body when you exercise. If your body says Stop, then Stop! Hula-hooping with Italian Cheese Bread from Little Caesar's in your stomach is apparently a bad idea. We are going to be having a Biggest Loser weight loss contest at work. I am hoping that will motivate me to eat better in addition to exercising.

Work is going great. Jeff did well in his classes last sememster, he got an A and a B+. We got a new car! It's a 2009 Toyota Corolla, it's red and it is so pretty.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

I <3 Super Mario Galaxy

I am currently playing Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. It is very, very fun. Mario shoots between galaxy, collecting star power to power an observatory that flies through space like a rocket. Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach again and taken her off into space. Mario and his new allies, Rosalina and the Lumas, are helping him to explore the universe to find her.

I am also still working out with my Wii Fit. According the scales, I haven't lost any weight, but a couple people have said it looks like I am, which means I am toning up and losing flab, which is the important thing to me. It will be interesting doing the Yoga poses as the weather heats up. My feet already sweat a little on the Balance Board (gross, I know), and today it already felt like I was doing Bikram yoga. I forsee myself slipping on the Balance Board and whacking my face, while the trainer says "Put more weight on your front foot."

Taking couple days off at the end of this week. Jeff and I will probably also be car shopping.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Name change

I am changing the name posted on my blog to my pen name, Aurora Hunter. It's still me, guys, just trying to sync up my various web identities.

Story posted on Good Vibes today!!!

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Why is the Internet always finding new ways to occupy my time?

There are blogs to read, facebook to update, myspace to update, NeoPoints to earn, and now, Twitter. It's all Grey's fault really. He jumped into the wonderful world of social networking with both feet, so now I have ended up with a Twitter account as well. The only thing I haven't done is activate it so it can be updated from my phone, because we don't have texting on our cell plan. Plus I'm really bad at texting.

I had a great weekend. I played a lot of World of Warcraft, and yesterday we successfully surprised Kelli with lunch for her birthday. And I just remembered I left my leftovers from lunch yesterday in the fridge at home, instead of bringing them for lunch today as I had intended. Doh! Oh well, it's pasta, I am sure it will be good tomorrow night for dinner, as Jeff has class. The semester is almost over, and we are taking a short break together the first weekend of May.

So sleepy... I wonder if I can convince my boss of the benefits of a siesta?

Buenos dias!

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Wii Fit Age: 23!

I have been using my Wii Fit for 17 days now. I haven't lost any significant weight yet, but I do feel tighter, stronger and more toned, esp. in my abs. I ordered some more fun stuff for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy and Link's Crossbow Training with the Wii Zapper. I love shooting games. Jeff ordered a couple things too, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and a charging station for the controllers.

We've been playing more World of Warcraft, the latest patch to the game added some new content. I have nearly achieved the cooking achievement, which will give me the ability to use the title "Chef" in-game.

Life is good, the sun is shining. It's a good day.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

My story was accepted!!

My story, Wednesday, was accepted by the Good Vibes online magazine! I am so excited. :-) It is going to be published under a nomme de plume, of course. It will be on the site in a month or so. I am very excited.

In other news, I have been working out on my Wii Fit. Tonight, Jeff has class, so I will probably work out for an hour.

Yesterday, we had a catered lunch at work from The Old Library in Olean. My job freakin' rocks.

Also, I had a strange dream last night that I was living in the Old Gardens at Pitt-Bradford. I had a big dog, who was always licking my face to say hello and standing over me to protect me when she saw someone she didn't like. The dog looked like my friend Janis's dog.

That's a brief update, more to come at a later time.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

My Wii Age

According to Wii Fit, my Wii Age is 31. I am doing well with the Yoga exercises, but I am bad at the strength training. The aerobic exercises and the balance exercises are fun, I got to hula hoop, dance, and ski. I had fun, and I definitely worked up a sweat.

Super Mario Smash Brothers should be coming soon!

Merry Part and Blessed Be

Neopets!

I have been playing a lot of Neopets lately. I really like all the flash games, and today I started a shop.

Work is crazy busy, and I am excited because last night I ordered a Wii with a Wii Fit. :-)

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Wiiiii!!

I got to play with Harriet and Artie' Wii yesterday. It was a lot of fun. I am trying to win a Wii and Wii Fit from work, but if I don't (the drawing is Monday the 16th) then I will definitely be buying the basic system. I can pick up the Wii Fit later on.

I especially like cow racing and fishing on Wii Play. The shooting game was okay, but Harriet beat me by quite a lot, which is never fun.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

I did it!

I submitted a story to Good Vibes online magazine! I can expect to hear back in 90 days or so. *ugh* That seems like a really long wait. I hope it's faster.

I have two other stories being reviewed at The Fishtank. I am really enjoying writing again.

In other, non-erotica related news, I would like to get a dog. Jeff and I have talked and we think we can get something that doesn't shed, so it's not rough on his allergies. He's going to be gone a lot with school over the next few years, between interning and class. I would love to a have a furry companion to brush and walk and snuggle. (And clean up after, and discipline etc, yes I know dogs poop) We are also going to see Watchmen this weekend, which should be pretty awesome.

Been a long time since I blogged, Neopets has been taking up a lot of my online time. I will try to be more diligent.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Inquiring minds wants to know...

A friend from work sent me a few questions about my beliefs. They really made me think, so I wanted to share my answers here.

#1. Are you a vegetarian? Why or why not?

#2. Do you consider mining the ground as an insult against the Earth? Is the "spirituality" of crystals affected when they are intentionally extracted from man made caves? Or, more simply, do rocks have souls?

#3. Do plants have souls?

My answers:

1) I am not a vegetarian. I think if the Goddess didn't want me to eat animals, she wouldn't have made them so tasty. :-) Seriously though, humans are animals, and animals eat other animals, that's all a part of the natural cycle. I do avoid eating animals that are raised in inhumane conditions, like veal. If I could afford it, I would definitely buy more organic/free range groceries and such. But I don't believe my Goddess wants me to be broke, so I do as much as I can.

2) & 3) - The word "soul" isn't one I use a lot. I believe more in the eternal spirit, which is born, lives, dies and is reborn again. "Soul" to me has always been used to say who gets to go the afterlife and who doesn't. A soul is something to be saved or damned, two concepts that don't really fit in my spiritual worldview.

For rocks, I would rather use crystals produced in a man-made cave, than something that's been torn out of the ground without any care for the ecological system around it.

It would be like using an African conflict diamond or a cubic zirconium in your fiancee's engagement ring. Sure, the conflict diamond is of excellent quality, but do you want the negative energy associated with it attached to a symbol of your marriage? The cubic zirconium serves the same purpose, and its production did no harm to the Earth.

I have kind of a black thumb when it comes to plants, so I don't work with them much. I do believe they have spirits that you can communicate and work with, which I probably need to spend more time doing to work with them successfully. A plant spirit is usually called a Deva.

The magic is always in the magician, not in the tools. If you feel a tool was tainted in its creation, or in how it was harvested, then it's not going to work in your magic.

Hope that answers your questions, I have no problems answering questions about my beliefs, so let me know if you have more. Keep in mind I don't consider myself a spokes-witch though. The best part of Wicca for me is that each of us is our own priest or priestess. How I interpret things might be completely different from how another Wiccan does. A lot of my beliefs are influenced by the Reclaiming and Faery Traditions of Wicca, which are both got their start around San Franscisco, completely separate from Gerald Gardner's Wicca.





Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Cool Dream

I had a great dream about food this morning. First, I was at the premier of a Pirates of the Caribbean video game in New York City. Johnny Depp was there, and when we left the theater, I was munching on a big Rice Krispie treat. When we got outside, a street vendor selling frozen yogurt was giving everyone free treats because he was a big Johnny Depp fan. My frozen yogurt was purple, with green and purple dinosaur candy in it. They had two other flavors I remember seeing and wanting to try: Hispanic Giraffe and Turtle Tat. (like a turtle tattoo) Then Anthony Bourdain wanted me to come eat donuts with him at this festival in another part of town. He said he had stopped eating other donuts because these ones were so orgasmically good. We took a train and ate donuts.

I woke up drooling.

Merry Part and Blessed Be

Another review

You don't have to own leather pants to like this book

I enjoyed the 21 stories in Hurts So Good. I got the book as an after-Christmas present to myself. The book starts off with The Sound of One Hand Clapping, by Nikki Magennis. I have enjoyed her work in other compilations and she doesn't disappoint here either. Next is Sting, by Jessica Lennox, which I loved because I have always found tattoo shops to be very sexy places. (It's the smell) Also, the idea of a sensual encounter turning into a sexual encounter is very exciting. Testing the Water by Teresa Noelle Roberts was a fun story about two friends discovering they had more in common than they thought. I really liked this story because it showed bondage and domination in the context of a typical relationship, contrary to the black leather clad image that TV and movies show of this subculture. She didn't lick his boots or sleep on the floor after the sex was over; they were equals again once the blindfold came off and the paddle was put away. I Promise To Do My Best by Teresa Joseph made me laugh out loud. The idea of adult women dressing up in Girl Scout uniforms and paddling each other is not a turn-on at all for me, but the story was well-written and entertaining. One of my favorites was First Time Since by Xan West. This story contained some of the more graphic dominate/submissive behavior in the book (human urinal), but what it was really about to me was how you slowly gather the pieces and rebuild yourself after a relationship ends. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good spanking, and anyone who is titillated by pushing pain and pleasure to the edge.

That's my Amazon review for Hurts So Good: Unrestrained Erotica, edited by Alison Tyler. I fell more in love with this collection today, because of the quotes she chose for the front of the book.

Sometimes it is harder to deprive oneself of a pain than of a pleasure - F. Scott Fitzgerald

If love be rough with you, be rough with love. - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 2

Working on another review, will post on here later today.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Bad, wicked, naughty Zoot! She has been setting fire to our beacon, which I have just remembered - is grail-shaped ... It is not the first time we've had this problem. - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Poem

I feel sure that I have posted this poem before - But it has my name in it and I love it, so here it is again. It's by William Carlos Williams.

Brother Paul! look!
—but he rushes to a different
window.
The moon!

I heard shrieks and thought:
What's that?

That's just Suzanne
talking to the moon!
Pounding on the window
with both fists:

Paul! Paul!

—and talking to the moon.
Shrieking
and pounding the glass
with both fists!

Brother Paul! the moon







Yup, that's just Suzanne, talking to the moon.

Merry Part and Blessed Be

How awesome a day is January 26th?

Well, you guys already knew it rocked, as it was the day I arrived in the world. But I've also just discovered that January 26th is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day! In addition to being that, it's also the birthday of Ellen Degeneres, The Great One, Wayne Gretsky, Eartha Kitt, Paul Newman and General Douglas MacArthur.

I had a great Birthday. I got a new book from Kelli, and she took me out to lunch. I was also sung to in two languages. No cake, but I don't really need it. I didn't complete the story I wanted to finish by yesterday, but I did get 1100 words written. The piece needs wrapped up and edited before I submit to Good Vibes.

So the year is off to a great start already. Thanks for all the birthday wishes, e-mails, cards, and general warm fuzziness I felt coming my way yesterday.

Merry Part and Blessed Be

New Template

I changed templates and I didn't like it, so today I am changing it back.

Tomorrow is the day

My 29th birthday. I got a very lovely gift from my in-laws today. Jeff got me two DVDs I really wanted, Sleeping Beauty and Wanted. Not sure how I feel about the birthday this year. Normally I love my birthday, it's the one day a year I allow myself to be a shameless attention whore. But I'm being plagued by the feeling that everyone expects me to have done more with myself by this age. It's the last year of my 20s. Time to grow up or shut up? And it's stupid, because really, I'm the only one who has to be happy with myself. And I do generally like myself, my job, my house and my life. I have the awesomest friends, fantastic family, a husband who loves me, a good job and a roof over my head.

So I guess, writing it out like that, I'm pretty damn lucky.

Bring it on 29.

Merry Part and Blessed Be