You made it through the first month… did you get all of your holiday (or lack thereof) decor put away? Did your neighbors notice that you took their snow shovel and aren’t about to give it back? Are you looking for something to do until the weather improves? Do you just need to hang out with women who don’t care how much you obsess over diapers, Days or belly dancing?

Sign up on our forum and join the Evolution! HippyMom welcomes women from all walks of life, and we have a ton of fun while trying our hardest to keep our heads above water or our SuperMom capes from being discovered in the trash.

Now’s your time to do it, so what are you waiting for?

Want to know what’s up on HippyMom in February? Ask the boss, we like to call her Tarty… at least to her face.

Hope to see you there soon!

Posted under Announcements

I had never heard of Reiki two years ago, but when I read about it in a post on HippyMom.com I was intrigued.  I asked questions and learned enough to know that I wanted to experience what is described in the following way on reiki.org:

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words – Rei which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and Ki which is “life force energy”. So Reiki is actually “spiritually guided life force energy.”

I was fortunate enough to find a Reiki Master in my area and receive my Level I training several months ago and noticed that my whole perspective on life began to change.  I have always been a scientifically minded person, but Reiki gave me a piece of the puzzle I had been missing.  I found that since Reiki is spiritual but not religious it is a perfect fit for me to balance the science with what we feel and experience  as humans who love, hurt, heal, and learn with not only facts, but with our instincts, emotions, feelings, and energy.  I thoroughly enjoy helping others, and when I experienced how much Reiki soothed my children when they were ill or upset I knew I wanted to learn more and become a Reiki Master so I could share this amazing energy with others.  I thought about how different my life would have been if I had known about Reiki, and I want to share the peace and relaxation I find when I share this marvelous energy with others or give myself a treatment.

I received my Level II training last month, and I have found that Reiki is an important part of my life now.  It doesn’t replace traditional medicine but instead works with it, and that means that I have found a balance between the medical science that has fascinated me since childhood and the energy that I always felt flowing through all creatures.  Since I have been sensitive to this energy all of my life and have often felt overwhelmed by the feelings of those around me, I was a bit concerned that learning Reiki and becoming attuned to the energy would make this worse.  Instead since my Level II training I have found that my perspective changed yet again in ways that I didn’t expect.

My relationships with those around me have changed and I see priorities differently now.  The wait in line at the traffic light or a possible slight by a loved one just doesn’t upset me as it used to, since I am learning to let the energy flow through me without trying to direct it as I always did in the past.  I am learning that this connection I always felt to the natural universe is even more amazing and exhilarating then I knew it could be, and I feel it now in a peaceful and more balanced way then I did before I was attuned.  Now I can heal myself and help others in a way that combines all the wisdom of the wonderful women at HippyMom.com, my Masters who have taught me so much, the hours I spent in classrooms learning about how people feel and learn and in therapy groups seeing how profoundly life events can affect our energy levels and physical health, and at bedsides giving medical treatments and comfort on the more physical level in the hospital.

I will be 50 years old in February, but I feel I am just now at the beginning of the path I was meant to walk in this life.  I hope to have a Reiki practice at some point and teach others to let this relaxing and soothing energy flow through them, and I am fortunate enough to have wise Masters, family, and friends to share with and learn from as I travel this path.  Reiki has indeed changed my life, and although I am at the very beginning of my education I know that there is so much more to learn than I ever envisioned before I read that first post.  The Universe is infinite with us each as unique and amazing parts of it, and for me the Reiki experience has given me a new perspective from which to view life, death, and everything in between.

Ruth Anne (a/k/a “MamaBirdie”) details more of her spiritual journey at The Inside Life. Go check it out!

Posted under Articles

At first glance, good smut should be tantalizing enough to make you want to dive in and find out if it can possibly be as good as it looks. The perfection of a steak depends on the patience and skill of the cook, just as the perfection of a good piece of smut depends on the craft of the writer. But smut seems so deceptively simple to write. Throw a few salacious terms around and make sure there’s plenty of action, and the story’s all set. Right? Wrong.

There’s a certain type of person who prefers erotic entertainment via the written word, and these are not usually the kind who like up close double penetration cum everywhere sort of pornography, the kind where cheesy music accompanies whatever nominal script has been written to fill in the gaps between money shots. Those who read about sex rather than watch it are looking for a more fulfilling experience.

Above all, erotica (or smut) must be at least somewhat believable. It starts with the scene, or putting the situation in some sort of context. Without context, you aren’t as likely to be able to imagine yourself dressed in that red trenchcoat, for example. Supply a few titillating details, carefully placed, that convince the reader to believe that more details will follow. It’s the hook to keep them reading, but so often, smut writers go for the knockout punch too early. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

Read More…

Posted under Articles

Let me just start off by saying two things.  One: I could’ve easily turned this into a list of at least 20 movies.  And two:  There are at least 15 movies that I didn’t see this year but wanted to.  Since this list is my top ten eleven movie list, we’ll go with ones I have seen.   One more thing, I can’t pick a favorite so it’s my top ten eleven movie picks in no particular order!

1. Wolverine- Hugh Jackman is just plain hot and he’s shirtless in the movie… ‘nuff said.  It may have a plot but I couldn’t stop staring at Hugh Jackmans bulging pe biceps! (For the record I was gonna say PECS! PERVS!)

2. New Moon- Starring Robert Pattinson,  Kristen Stewart, and the hot Taylor guy who wears no shirt and really doesn’t need a last name.   I am in love with the books, so of course this would be on my list.  We laugh, we cry, we drool.  Okay, so most of us do.  Looking forward to Eclipse in June!

3.  Time Travelers Wife- The lovely Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana— beautiful  love story.  I read the book and both the books and the movie blew me away.   Could you handle a time-traveling spouse? I can’t say enough how much I loved this movie.  I think maybe this one would definitely be my number one pick of 2009!

4.  Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson seriously watching this movie makes me want to pee my pants waiting for the Deathly Hallows.  In the HP movie series this one definitely gets the number two slot! Well, until Deathly Hallows comes out! The Prisoner of Azkaban will always have my heart.

5. It’s Complicated- Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin- Oh so laughable and yes, I cried.  More for the cougar-era or those that have gone through divorce and aren’t so cynical anymore but definitely can be enjoyed by younger women, too!  The tub scene and the scene at the bakery with just Meryl and Steve melted my heart! I am not a big fan of Alec as a person or checking out his pretty much naked body but he definitely can do his job!

6. The Univited- Arielle Kebbel, Elizabeth Banks, and Emily Browning.  Dude, I almost pissed myself when I found out the plot twist.  Definitely edge of your seat, omg whats about to happen kind of thing.  Keeps you guessing til the very end!

7.  The Ugly Truth- The sexy duo of Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler.  Case of girl calls guy, guy acts like a jerk, the guy comes to work for her, they start to get along while still picking at each other but in the end they fall in love.  Classic love story with some bitterness tossed in!

8.  The Proposal- Smokin’ hot and really funny Ryan Reynolds and the beautiful and talented Sandra Bullock.  Two of my favorite actors in a film that didn’t suck.  (Okay Anger Management did have it’s moments) I laughed just about the entire time I watched this movie.   If you like chick flicks this one is for you.   Arrogant, bitchy boss makes pussy-boy assistant marry her so she can stay in America.   Then once she meets his family and actually gets to know him everything changes.

9.  Crank 2- This movie stars Jason Statham and Amy Smart.  Lots of action, lots of violence, fast-paced and pretty funny.  I think I just threw this one in here because Jason is hot and has a drool-worthy accent!

10.  Star Trek- Chris Evans, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and Simon Pegg.  I really liked this movie.  I am not a HUGE follower of the original Star Trek series so I am not sure of all the jokes or bloopers or whatever but definitely one of my favorites of 2009.

11.  Up- Ed Asner and a bunch of other voices.  Great feel good movie.  Makes you laugh and makes you cry.  I’ve come to find out if a movie makes me laugh and cry then it goes in my mental list of favorite movies. I have tons of favorite movies! I loved the talking dog and I have been known to just randomly say “squirrel, squirrel” after seeing that movie.

So, there you have it.  My favorites of 2009.   All ten eleven of them!  As I mentioned there are still several movies of 2009 that I still haven’t seen! I may just have to redo my list later on after I’ve seen them!

~ FunkyBlueLovin’ (a/k/a crazycase) can be found studying, living and blogging over at Wouldn’t You Like to Know?

Posted under Articles