subscription box

Sick Night, New Stuff, and MGTOW/Incels

| marandarussell

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I had a rough night. I woke up numerous times drenched in a cold sweat, shivering, and nauseated. I was starting to worry I was coming down with something, but today I am feeling better, so not sure what was going on. I guess we’ll see how the day goes.

I did get some stuff in the mail today that cheered me up. I got my new handheld phone tripod, my first mortar and pestle, some new oil pastels, and my first Num Nums subscription box (a snack box for those with food allergies). I plan to share all this on a YouTube video soon. Let me know if you guys might want to see that video when it is up and I can link it here.

I’ve also been listening to some MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) guy on YouTube named Tom Leykis who has his own radio show. It amazes me how twisted some of these guys get after being in bad relationships with women. Part of me wants to feel a little sorry for them for being mistreated in the past, but it is hard to feel too much empathy when they themselves have morphed into narcissistic, shallow assholes.

The whole MGTOW and incel phenomena are truly disturbing on multiple levels. The sheer rage, the desire for revenge, the need to put women down and dehumanize them, the harsh stereotypes they live by, etc. What is happening to our society?

 

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Video: Goddess Provisions April New Age Subscription Box Review!

| marandarussell

It took all day for this video to upload onto YouTube lol, but I wanted to share in case anyone wanted to see what I got in this particular subscription box this month. It is the first time I’ve gotten this particular new age/spiritual box and I did enjoy it, although their past boxes looked a little better to me overall. Will definitely give it at least one more try though.

March 2019 OwlCrate Jr Subscription Box “Birds of a Feather”

| marandarussell

I got my first OwlCrate Jr subscription box! This book box is for middle grade books and each month a theme is chosen revolving around that month’s book. This month the theme was “Birds of a Feather” and the book is The Simple Art of Flying by Cory Leonardo. I chose OwlCrate Jr instead of the regular OwlCrate box because I thought I might enjoy the middle grade books better than the YA books. I do love YA books as well, but well-written middle grade fiction holds a special place in my heart.

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Here is what came in the box:
– The book (obviously lol)
– Author-signed bookplate
– Letter from the author
– OwlCrate Jr monthly magazine
– National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer Bird Field Guide
– Pineapple scented tropical birds stickers
– Flamingo gel pen
– Mini owl plush toy
– Parrot keychain
– Spoiler card and card for next month’s theme (which will be “Crack the Code”)

I loved this first box and am excited to see what else they send in the future! I’m halfway through the book and love it so far. It is a sweet, sad, and funny story about a pair of brother and sister parrots living in a pet shop. Right now I just got to the part of the story where the siblings are split up when one is adopted and it is breaking my heart a little.

I love the bird field guide, the owl plushie, and the flamingo pen. Plus, I’ve already made a couple ACEO collage artworks with the stickers:

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(Art available for sale on my Ebay store!)

January/February Book Subscription Boxes – Kids & Middle Grade

| marandarussell

Lately I’ve been trying random book subscription boxes just to try to figure out which one I want to get on a regular basis. For January/February, I tried the following two boxes:

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This first box was the January Book Drop subscription. I picked the middle grade option, although I was torn between that and the young adult option. This subscription box sends you one book per month (along with a card about the book and little extras like bookmarks) and is pretty cheap (about $10 including S&H for this shipment). The Book Drop is run by an independent bookstore, which makes buying it even better since I like to support small businesses.

The book they sent this month was Winterhouse by Ben Guterson. I really enjoyed this mystery novel! The main character is a book nerd and loves to do puzzles, just like me! I did figure out the plot of the book pretty early on though, so the mystery wasn’t all that hard for me.

Here is the second box I received, this one in early February:

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This box was from Kids Bookcase Club. It cost $9.99 plus S&H. You get three kids books a month. This was the 7-8 year old box. Out of the three books they sent, my favorite by far was Terrific by Jon Agee. This picture book is sarcastic and hilarious! I love the grumpy old man who is the main character! The Very Fairy Princess was a cute picture book, but not exactly my taste. The Animal Planet Dolphin Rescue book was a young reader chapter book and it was cute and interesting, but obviously a simple read. For next month’s box, I decided to up the age to the preteen box to see what kind of middle grade books they send.

For the upcoming month I am also trying out the Scribbler subscription box for writers and the SpearCraft Book Box (which comes with all kinds of cool reader goodies)! So stay tuned!!!

January 2019 Magickal Folk Meditation Kit Subscription Box Review

| marandarussell

This month I decided to try a different pagan-themed subscription box through Cratejoy. This is the Magickal Folk Meditation Kit subscription box that is only $7 + S&H. One thing I love about the Magickal Folk series is that they have a wide selection of boxes to choose from at different prices, so if you simply want Ritual Teas, Crystals, Meditation Rituals, or bigger combo boxes, you can get exactly what you want without paying for more.

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The kit I chose is a small kit that comes with a specific meditation and ritual to perform each month, with a few little magickal tools to perform the ritual. This month’s theme was Brigid’s Blessing and came with a winter-themed meditation card, two beautiful tumbled milk quartz stones in a pretty little maroon pouch, a white satin spell ribbon that says “As it is” and “So it will be” at opposite ends, and a large packet of Goddess Blessing Salts made with dandelion root powder & cut leaf, blessed thistle herb, and sea salt.

The ritual suggests you take the ribbon out to a natural place and tie it to a tree, but right now I can’t bring myself to part from it, so I am using it as a decoration on my altar:

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One thing I especially love about the meditation card is that it comes with a few journaling prompts for further reflection. So far I love this subscription box and will stay subscribed. It is a good price for a small monthly reminder to take the time to meditate and celebrate my connection to the earth and nature.

Adult Coloring Book Art – Coffee Break and Winter Witch

| marandarussell

I’m still on an adult coloring book kick. Here are a couple recent finished pieces. First, we have a coffee/snack inspired picture:

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This second image was actually one that I cut out of a paper from my House of Rituals pagan subscription box. Personally, I think the star and the reindeer antlers make her look like a winter witch, although the flowers point more to a springtime feeling, so who knows?

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Both of these are currently up for sale on my Ebay store, so if you like them, check it out!

October 2018 House of Rituals Pagan Subscription Box

| marandarussell

I received my October Mini House of Rituals subscription box a few weeks ago and have already used the stuff from it, but I wanted to show you all what I got anyhow. Here is what came in the box:

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The theme this month was Samhain & Diving with Spirits. The package included a 3-card spread tarot reading cloth, 3 tarot cards chosen individually for each subscriber (I got The Lovers, The High Priestess, and the 3 of Wands cards), a tarot card reading guide, a book about various kinds of spirits and how to work with them, 2 silver candles, full moon incense, an old-fashioned pocketwatch, an antique photo, a sun/moon decorative tile, a chunk of rose quartz, and instructions.

When I do rituals I tend to kind of disregard the instructions and just do what feels right, so I used the materials to do a small altar spread honoring the spirit of Samhain and The Day of the Dead. I did keep the theme of past, present, and future and did feel that the 3 cards they sent me fit well! Here is an image of my finished altar spread:

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My personal interpretation of the 3 cards is as follows:

Past – The Lovers: Duality in my past spills over into my present.

Present – The High Priestess: A need for my subconscious to heal from the pain of the past so I can move on.

Future – 3 of Wands: Harmonious prosperity (hopefully a good result to my upcoming SSDI hearing?)

I mostly consider the Tarot a system that is fun and helps you get in touch with your own inner thoughts, feelings, desires, and needs through meditation, so I don’t necessarily try to use it to “predict the future”, but if it wants to tell me the future looks good, I will accept that!

October 2018 Cryptid Crate & Halloween Swap Box!

| marandarussell

I wanted to share a few fun things I got in the mail yesterday. First, is the October Cryptid Crate Lite subscription box. This is actually the last month I will be getting this box because I had to choose only 2 at a time and there are two others that I have been enjoying even more. I still love Cryptid Crate though and wish I could subscribe to all the boxes I want! Here is what I got this month:

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I was happy to get a Bigfoot t-shirt! I was hoping to get one from the subscription box! This Bigfoot Xing shirt is a special edition only available from Cryptid Crate. They also sent a Sasquatch Field Guide which helps you identify signs of Sasquatch activity in the wild, a little bottle of Big Foot Hair (supposedly from real live Bigfoots lol), and some handmade, pumpkin spice scented Bigfoot soap.

I also received another package yesterday, which was a Halloween swap box I have been doing for years with my friends and fun, creepy YouTubers, JekyllHydeClub. We share a passion for all things dark and creepy and especially for Halloween! Here is what they sent:

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I love everything they sent, but some of my favorites are the little spiderweb pet costume, the black bird skeleton, the socks, and all the jewelry. I know the jewelry is a little hard to see in the photo above, so here is a little bit of a closer view:

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I think my favorites of the jewelry are the unique pink ring that looks almost like a crystal ball with liquid in it, the black cat ring, the cat/witch’s broom necklace, and the red bracelet with the black crow and skull. The little charms will be fun to make my own unique jewelry with too!