#13thMoonThursday & Lancaster Punk Rock Flea Market

Photo: Portraits by Heather, Model: Jolie Kasar

Hey Everyone, Selena from 13th Moon here.  I'm gearing up for our next show, the Lancaster Punk Rock Flea Market this Saturday, June 20th, 2015.

I've been working on a new line of soaps to bring out just for this event, then there's always the customer favorites like our beer, wine, & milk soaps that will be there as well!  This is the first time we'll be bringing the full line of our own custom fragrance blends in 6 packs of wax (soy blend wax tarts), soy blend candles, and incense punks and cones.  Of course, I couldn't forget a variety of our famous long lasting lip balms!  Come on out and say hello, we'll be on the 2nd floor!

For more info, check out: Shop13thMoon.com!

How Full Is Your Glass?

Hello loves!

     I took a bit of a hiatus from the Internet in hopes to relieve some MAJOR amounts of stress in my life. I've come to the conclusion that this was completely necessary, but not because I wanted to be unsocial or cut people completely out of my life. I absolutely needed to reevaluate the way I looked at things. As funny as it may seem, it helped me realize how pessimistic I was with events that I could have, ultimately, taken control of in a healthier way.

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” 
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

     For instance, I was becoming self-doubtful in my career path and some choices I had made. I laid in bed one night, contemplating everything - pretty much on the verge of tossing everything away. In the midst of all of that, I hit a brick wall of realization. I had an epiphany! I knew I was looking at things in a negative light, so I just needed to switch that around. It seems so easy but when you’re stuck in a funk, man, you’re stuck. It really boils down to the determination you have to get the hell out of that sticking point and motivation to move forward towards greater things. I knew that if I wanted anything to change, I had to start with myself and how I was addressing situations.

     “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi

     I got up and starting looking up motivational quotes, Pinterest is awesome for that, and researching how to become more optimistic. I stumbled upon a really great chart that narrowed down some unhealthy thinking styles. It’s funny how some of them I pointed to and said “Oh, I do that!” I knew that I had to improve on those at that point.

Find more at Health Central!

     Now don’t get me wrong, I am an optimistic person for things like solving issues related to my job and even for other people; however, I think we all hit snags in the road when it comes to ourselves. We just need to look at things differently. When a personal issue enters my life now, I do my best to stay focused on the solutions, get advice from other people or even try different approaches than I normally would of. It’s amazing what changes this has brought to my life since it has allowed me to see myself differently and communicate better with those who respect me and my time. I have also learned to not blame myself or personalize the situation when others leave my life for their reasons.

     I don’t think that being optimistic is so much about being positive but more about being motivated and persistent. It's about being able to look at a situation and seeing the good or just using the event to grow as a person in a positive light. Enough of my babbling! How full do you think your glass is??

xx

Jolie Kasar

The Blonde Leading the Blind

Have you ever seen that guy at a place that sells pet food and not only does he have a shopping cart, but it is practically overflowing with pet food? Not only is it overflowing, but the food isn’t even for one type of animal? I mean come on, what is this? Do you live on a farm or are you one of those crazy hoarders with fifty pets running around in the walls? Well, all joking aside, I have been “that guy” on more times than I can count. I am the proud owner of two dogs and two cats. My two dogs, Fidget and Coby, are 13 years old and my cats, Freddy and Nancy, are bout 5 and 6. I have had the dogs since they were puppies and I came to live with cats when my husband and I first started living together. It took a while for one of our cats to get used to the dogs, she still has her little kitty bitch fits and will whack one of the dogs, but apart from that, we are one big happy family.

Fidget on my skull bed, Coby and Nancy, Freddy and Nancy, Coby

My biggest concern has always been the dogs, and not just because I’ve had them since they were pups. Now that my dogs are getting up there in age, I start to worry more. The walks can’t be as long and the steps aren’t easy as they used to be, but none the less, they are doing fine. Or at least they were until this past January. This winter, I noticed that Fidget had dropped a significant amount of weight. He wouldn’t go up and down the stairs anymore and he was having accidents in the house. He was still eating regularly, but his thirst for water went up significantly. The next thing I noticed was his eyes were now cloudy. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize this dogs health was going down hill fast. He appeared to be blind and had something else wrong that we weren’t 100% sure of just yet. So, like any responsible pet owners, we took our sick critter to the vet.

Signs of Dog Diabetes from www.hillspet.com 

The vet asked us all of the standard questions to figure out what was wrong with our dog. We told the doctor everything we had noticed. She confirmed that our dog was blind from cataracts, which we had already guessed. When we told her about the weight loss, thirst, and accidents she told us that it sounded like our dog was diabetic. She wanted to do a blood test to confirm this, so I got to watch three people hold my 56 pound mutt to get a blood sample. Let me tell you, this sucked. Not only is my dog not a huge fan of the vet, but now the poor blind dog can’t even see what’s comin! Within 24 hours we got the results from the blood test and they came back positive for diabetes. The next visit sucked.

Me (with a tan for once) and Fidget before cataracs and diabetes

When we returned to the vet, we were told what new habits we had to get into now that we have a diabetic dog. The first thing they told us was to change his diet. He needed high protein/low fat dog food twice a day. To top that off, he would now need a shot of insulin to follow meals. We were told to feed the dog twice a day as close to 12 hours apart as possible. We were starting with a small dose of insulin to see how that goes and that in order to give it to him, we needed to make sure he had at least 3 bites of food. No big deal right… oh wait. You mean I have to give the old, blind dog the injection. Awesome… NOT! To make matters more nerve racking, they vet had my husband and I practice on Fidget. In the office. With water. And two other vet assistants watching. I am sorry for all of those times I was nervous for having to give a speech in class, this tops all of those minor anxiety attacks. I decided to go first, especially since I knew my husband wasn’t going to volunteer to be Doctor Satan to our dog first. The room was getting hot, so I took off my coat. The vet grabbed my dog by his scruff, making a “tent” with his loose skin. She moved the hair to find his skin, stuck in the needle, and pressed down on the plunger. “See, nothing to it. You’re turn!” I’m sweating like I’m high in church. I fill the syringe, grab his fur, find his skin, and give my dog the injection of water. It was over before I could pee my pants and the dog didn’t even move. It was like he couldn’t feel a thing or if he could, it didn’t bother him. After my husband left, we felt better about giving the shot, but were still worried.

Fidget, Winter 2015

The next few weeks were an adjustment and were beyond frustrating. We were given the small dose so that we could gradually work our way up to the perfect amount of insulin for our dog. This didn’t happen over night. It took weeks and weeks of vet visits, different dog foods, and pee pads as far as the eye can see. There have been days where I come home and I wanted to cry or pull out my hair. It sucks to come home and clean up pee. It sucks to give your dog shots everyday and to have to change your work schedule to accommodate this. It sucks to have to carry the blind dog up and down steps to go to the vet. What doesn’t suck? Seeing your dog happy and wagging his tail because he is feeling better. Watching him slowly get on your bed when he hasn’t done that in months. Seeing your cat, Freddy, try to lead your blind dog to the backdoor.

Fidget playing it off that he is camera shy

Having a blind dog with diabetes hasn’t been a cake walk. There are good days and there are bad days. My friend Rich put it best when he said, “All of the happiness you get from your pets will make taking care of them when they get sick worth it.” Rich is right. I had 12 years with Fidget where he was there for me and now it is my turn to be there for him in a big way. He may be blind, he may have diabetes, but he is happy, and as long as his tail is still wagging I think we will be just fine.

I found this tag while looking on Amazon.com, just in case the blind dog gets loose.

Here are some of my tips for anyone with a diabetic critter:

1. Ask your vet about what food to buy. They will know more brands that Joe Blow at a big chain pet store who is just there stocking shelves.

2. If you can't find a certain dog food, go to a specialty store. They will know more about the products and are more likely to be able to get in what you need even if they don't carry it in the store.

3. Pee pads are good, but not for big spills. While pee pads caught more of my dogs accidents, they weren't nearly big enough to not leak. I'm sure these work better with small dogs. I still use them because they do make it easier to clean up accidents as opposed to mopping up lakes of urine.

4. Walmart has best pricing for insulin and needles. For 100 needles and a vile of insulin I play under $40. Plus, you get to cut the line because it's not for a human!

5. Weekly trips to the vet until you have your pets dosage just right are necessary and don't cost nearly as much as a regular visit. 

6. Just breathe. You can do this! It does get better.

7. There are lots of sites that can help you if you have any questions about Dog Diabetes including Hills Pet and Pet Web MD.

Fidget

Thanks for reading about my trials and tribulations with Doggie Diabetes.

xoxo,
Krystal Lake

Opple Topple

What do you envision when you think of a music festival?  Tie-dye wearing hippies?  Psychedelic tapestries?  Cheap beer?

This all may be true at Opple Topple as well.  But this year at Opple Topple you will also be reminded of Morrocco.  Envision a tent out of Arabian nights.  White damask linens drape the tent.  At night the entire tent seems to glow.  Seductive belly dancers and exotic men entice you with mint tea and hookah pipes.  Decorative lanterns flicker in the candlelight.  An intoxicating perfume of incense is in the air.  A gypsy sits in the corner reading tarot cards.

Mint tea anyone?

If you are looking for something to do Father's Day weekend and you enjoy good music and camping.  Why not check out Opple Topple?  If you do go, make sure you stop by the Tea Party tent and say hello.

-NéNé

May was Mental Health Awareness Month: Living with Panic and Anxiety

Hi everyone, in case you didn't know, May was Mental Health Awareness Month. Of course, I only found out about it at the end of the month, when people "came out" as having a mental illness. Today, I want to come out to you. I suffer from a panic and anxiety disorder that I was only diagnosed with recently. How do you know you suffer from either of these? Well let's see, I'll start with something simple. You over think and over analyze any criticism. You may worry about what people may think  of you, so maybe you don't leave the house except for work and comfortable activities. Big, loud places make you extremely anxious. You get unexplained chest pain and feel totally overwhelmed by life. You suffered a traumatic loss or event, and your grieving process is complicated.

In my case, I lost two family members within the course of a year. My grandfather passed away after suffering for three years. My father and I were his primary caregivers, even though he was in a nursing home, and we spent hours a day with him making sure he was well cared for and received attention. His loss left me sad and empty, but I began feeling better about six months after he died. In June of 2014, my mother died suddenly from sepsis and a massive stroke. To say our relationship was rocky was an understatement. After she died, I began having night terrors and panic attacks. I barely left the house because I couldn't deal with all of the input around me. I was empty and angry, and therapy only took some of the edge off. After months of suffering, I finally spoke to my doctor, who had a similar experience. She recommended cognitive behavioral therapy and medication. I now had someone who listened and gave me a way to refocus my energy and thoughts. It was okay to be anxious, it just couldn't control me. The medication slowly stopped the panic attacks. Two months later, I feel like a new person.

I decided to write this personal story because I wanted you to know that you're not alone. There are many avenues for help, and you can get free or very low cost assistance. Many people I know go to therapy and/or take medication. There is no stigma attached to taking care of yourself. Love yourself and get help if you need it. If you need to talk, feel free to message me.

Hugs,

Miss Shelly

Intro & Gluten Free Flour Blend

I have so many allergies and random health stuff that it should have been no surprise when my doctor told me it was time to go gluten free in an attempt to improve my health, but it really was.  I love research and development, it's my favorite part of creating products for 13th Moon, taking a bunch of ingredients and turning them into a something new that's completely different from what you started with.  It's the alchemy of it all, which is also why I love cooking and baking.  So why had I never even thought about the gluten free world, what it was, and how to happily exist in it?  Well, it was time to get started......and off I went down the rabbit hole....

Now, my gluten tolerant friends, please bear with me, as I promise I do not want to see your eyes glaze over while we talk about this whole gluten free thing that I know some of you don't even think is a real thing (but I assure you, it is totally a real thing). To make everyone happy, I will be sharing at least 2 versions of most of the recipes here; the gluten free version, plus a regular version.  I shy away from most dairy, so my recipes will tend to show Coconut Milk, you can always substitute regular milk in place of it, but you may have to play with the ratios.I use organic eggs from a local farm, so I am not vegan, but I have played with vegan versions as well.  I will always share what works and what is a total fail so you don't have to waste your time or money testing.  Sometimes those flax eggs just change the texture of things, there's no getting around it.

Find on Amazon

The first thing I set out to make was donuts!  There is nothing I love more than a good donut.  So, after learning that I was supposed to get new bakeware to cook my gluten free goodies in, it was the perfect excuse to get this bad boy for my birthday!  The Babycakes Multi Treat Maker makes cupcakes, mini donuts, cake pops (as they list it, or as I call it, donut holes) with it's three different plate options.  It makes 7 donuts in about 5-7 minutes depending or recipe and 12 donut holes or cake pops in 4-5 mins or so.  I believe it takes about 12 mins for 7 cupcakes.
 This is not an ad for Babycakes, I just really love this little guy, it's served me well and figured it was worth sharing with you since I love it so much.

On my Pinterest adventures, I found that there were more disasters than successes in attempting to duplicate "the best gluten free" this or that.  So, I set out to try to take good notes on my adventures and maybe I can help some of you save on the waste of ingredients and time.  So, the best way to start off is with the basics, an all purpose four!  Below is my favorite blend of gluten free flours to make a light, airy, not gritty end result as an All Purpose Flour substitute.  This is what I will be referring to as the SR Flour Blend in future recipes. :) 

SR Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend

3 parts White Rice Flour

2 parts Brown Rice Flour

2 parts Tapioca Starch

1 part Corn Starch

1 part Potato Starch

I do not add Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum to this base, I add it to each recipe individually.

Enjoy!

I'll be back tomorrow with my favorite donut recipe for National Donut Day!

~Selena of 13th Moon
XoXoXo

Joining the Sinister Rouge Crew

When I was approached by Selena about contributing to SR, I couldn't say no! After being a lover of 13th Moon Creations (aka the reason why I always smell so good) for a few years now and learning about the self-love messages SR promotes, it was a good match.

So now I want to introduce myself and what I do!

I'm Keith Blackwell. I've been labeled everything from tarot reader, psychic, witch, more, and everything in-between. I think what I do speaks more than any label could! I am a co-owner of a counseling business in Lehighton, and conduct tarot readings, astrological consultations, and ministerial services.

I help people get clear and get through the things that are causing a lack of flow in their lives. People bring their problems to the table, anything ranging from school/relationship issues, business advice, to paranormal activity and beyond! When I shuffle the deck, I am literally putting all the different aspects and possibilities of the Universe into motion and I'll also let you know what the planets have to say.

Here on the SR blog, I'll be posting every so often about the latest astrological happenings or addressing any questions or topics that are thrown my way! (You can leave these in the comments below!)

You can find me online at www.KSBlackwell.com or email me at kblackwell7 @ gmail.com

XO 

Keith