Category: Full Moon Goals

Working on project & time management skills; goals for the Leo full Moon

07
Feb
2023

So Sunday night marked the second full moon of 2023. We’re a little over five weeks into the year—and I’m already over it. That is due to family issues going on—which are currently becoming extremely draining—all the way around. Also in a few months, I guess it’s going to be declared that we’re moving from an pandemic to an epidemic status…not too thrilled with that either…

I really do need to get back into a research/writing/editing/posting routine…I haven’t really been doing much of anything for the past five to eight weeks or so—again, due in part to being emotionally/mentally/physically drained due to the on-going family medical problem.

Well, I realized I basically updated the mini-rant that I did last year around this time, so I’ll weave the story back to the Leo full moon.

What are some questions to reflect on during the first few days of the full moon? According to “Moonology: working with the magic of the lunar cycles” by Yasmin Boland:

Have I been too self-centered, egotistical, or proud?

Have I been treating the people around me like minions?

Have I been arrogant, vain, pushy, or pompous?

Have I been expressing myself creatively enough?

Have I shown myself enough self-love?

If I were to number the above questions one-to-five, my answers would be as followed:

  1. If I was being self-centered or egotistical—I would have my second blog/website up, running, and would have landed several freelance projects by now. I usually only make it through the day by literally ignoring everything that I know I should be doing and doing things that don’t ‘tax’ my reserves that much. I’m working on trying to get the mental/emotional/spiritual health back onto a somewhat even keel.
  2. Let’s see—the person I’m around the most is my father—so nope, currently no minions here. I’m pretty certain the pets think we’re their minions.
  3. I don’t think I’ve been arrogant, vain, pushy, or pompous lately—though I’m sure that my mother would currently argue with me on those points (logic versus illogical arguments). I really haven’t been out of the house all that often (at least during the week). 
  4. Basically early December saw me falling into a rut of not working on any craft projects at night and either reading or playing silly games (on either the kindle or phone). I had managed to complete a couple of cross-stitch projects last fall, but haven’t really done much since about early/mid-December. I want to actually sit down and trying to create some jewelry (bracelets and necklaces) this month—just need to finish straightening up the combo work space. 
  5. Have I been having a high regards for my own well-being and happiness? If I gave it a number—that number would be 55. To where I’m not totally disregarding my own well-being and happiness, but at the same time not advocating for my own well-being and happiness. While people would say that your self-love shouldn’t be tied in with others—currently a decent percentage of mine is tied with my immediate family—hence it sitting roughly around not totally full, but not totally empty. One thing that will help—is getting my mother from the current hospital to another (or possibly a nursing home)…we’ll have to see how things play out. So, yes—I still need to work on improving my health: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and social (all of which have been up and down over the past five years or so).

With focusing on self-care/love, this will include doing intentional movements (anything from lifting weights, to walking, to cardio and yoga), meditating at night, doing a oracle/tarot card reading, starting to listening to podcasts again, reading, and just trying to figure out what works for me.

Looking at my chart—the Leo full moon is going through my 10th house, which is also my career zone. So, with it going through my career zone—two years ago, I stated I was still technically on a reboot break, last year I stated I was going to start moving forward with the second half of my life. 

While I had decided 2021/2022 that I was going to go in the remote writing/data analysis direction, while trying to build a freelance writing business—this year I need to focus probably a little more on freelance aspect of things (essential, especially since I’m not sure what my schedule is going to be like once we hopefully get my mother home from the hospital). Now I just need to determine the types of content I want to spend my time researching & creating—hopefully allowing me to combine my core values (learning/knowledge, spirituality/inner harmony/peace, creativity/curiosity, and evolution/growth/transformation) with my strengths (learner, intellection, input, achiever, deliberative/ideation/arranger, creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking), while also improving some of my ‘weaknesses’ (such as communications, significance, and bravery).

So what are my goals for the Leo Full Moon? Since I’m two late in posting, the goal list is going to be somewhat ‘short’ but at the same time be on-going goals. Those goals will include:

  1. Develop an flexible intentional movement calendar–focusing on things that I enjoy to do or are wanting to try.
  2. Develop a flexible daily/weekly schedule
  3. Spend time working on crafts (start a new cross-stitch project, doodle, color, make jewelry, and when the weather warms up—photography time up at Boomer Lake)
  4. Evening oracle card reading, straighten up my meditation altar, and designing a new meditation ‘area’ (one that can be easily setup and dismantled each evening). 

Goals are similar to last year’s goals–but that’s how goals become habits–repeat, repeat, and repeat again.

So—basically everything is going to be around the goals of getting organized and planning out things for the rest of the first quarter and looking towards the second quarter of the year as well. Progress over perfection, done over continuous revisions, and getting some writing/research done daily. 

Plus reminding myself of the following quote:“Not caring what other people think is the best choice you will ever make”.

What are some of your Leo goals?

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Acknowledging where growth is need: Review of Cancer Goals

04
Feb
2023

So the moon is transitioning into its second full moon phase of 2023 tomorrow—moving into Leo, and that means before looking ahead to the Leo full moon and hopefully setting a set of reasonable goals—it’s time to look back at the goals I set for the Cancer full moon and see how I did with them.

What were the goals that I set for the Leo full moon? They included:

  1. Continuing with my nightly meditations and oracle card drawings, and trying to work in at least one morning meditation sesssion
  2. Draft a three-to-five year plan (with breakdowns-yearly/quarterly/monthly/biweekly/daily)
  3. Finish at least one more non-fiction book
  4. Start working through (or watch) at least part of another personal/professional development e-course

So how did I do with each of them?

In terms of meditation:

I’ve been fairly consistent with meditating at least a few minutes every night—and usually would finish listening to the meditation while doing an oracle card drawing. 

I haven’t been that good at trying to do morning meditation sessions—something to work on this year—cause I need all the little moments of zen I can grab.

In terms of non-fiction reading this year:

I’ve finished ‘Creativity: A Short & Cheerful Guide’ by John Cleese, and am probably about halfway through ‘Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman’ by Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson.

It’s been one of those years so far (and we’re only on February 3rd) where I’m falling back on favorite series to read or playing mindless games on the kindle (somewhat bad habits for avoiding various tasks that I need to be doing).

In terms of personal/professional e-courses:

I did watch a couple of short courses on skillshare during the full moon period and they were:

The Art of Planning, Master Time Management, and Increase Productivity

Planning a life you love: Creating, organizing, and utilizing a agenda

I just need to actually start utilizing information from both short courses—and that ties in with the next goal:

Drafting a three-to-five year plan:

Well—right now my main goal is to get through each day without having a breakdown. I haven’t been nearly as productive as I need to be…I avoid being on the computer most of the day for the past week or so—enjoying the digital detox—but at the same time feeling a little ‘guilty’ that I wasn’t doing any work.

So—this goal wasn’t accomplished, and will be worked into future new/full moon goals. In addition—I really need to try to figure out where I would like to settle within a few years (I’m willing to do possibly one more big move)—cause, I’m getting tired of being in this particular state.

So there it is: sixty percent of the Leo full moon goals accomplished: nightly meditation & oracle card drawings; working through an e-course, and continuing to read a non-fiction book. 

Fleshing out long-term goals has always fallen slightly short of being completed—mainly because I either throw everything down on to paper for every category of life—or I’m not realistic in the time frame for accomplishing said goal. Something to work on this year.

But progress is being made–especially when I can acknowledge where some of my time ‘wasters’ are….

Therefore I know that I need to remove the games from the phone and kindle..find a good time management app to download onto the computer (to help keep me off social media)–and also to be totally realistic in the timeframes that I initially come up with for the three-to-five year plan. Some goals may be accomplished quicker than others…and there may be some major setbacks as well…just have to remember to breath in and breath out.

How did the Leo full moon treat you?

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Meditation and planning: Starting 2023 on the right ‘foot’

06
Jan
2023

So the moon is transitioning into its first full moon phase of 2023—through the constellation of Cancer. You might have noticed that I haven’t posted a review of my December 2022 full moon goals…and the reasons— I’m way behind schedule in numerous areas due to the computer problems last month, and the big reason—I’m still trying to get use to Apple’s versions of word, excel, and powerpoint. We’re barely a week into the new year—and I’m already ready for it to be over…so yeah, it’s looking like another one of those years.

So, what are some questions that one can reflect on during this time? If one looks at the book: ‘Moonology: working with the magic of lunar cycles’ by Yasmin Boland, there are several questions, and they are:

Have I been insecure, clingy, and no fun this month?

Have I been coming at what I want sideways, instead of tackling it head-on?

Have I been sulky, moody, brooding, or manipulative?

Have I been secretive and possibly even a tad paranoid?

Have I had enough family time, or time with people who feel like family?

If I were to number the above questions one-to-five, I think my answers this year would be:

  1. I think it will depend on the situation for each of those behaviors. I’m not really the clingy type. Semi-insecure in terms of the job search and trying to start my own freelance business? Yes, a little—but working on overcoming those (or acknowledging and working with) those emotions. No fun? Well, still in a pandemic/epidemic, and still basically self-isolating—so yeah, probably can be considered no fun by others.
  2. I would probably say that this is a yes—I’ve been avoiding numerous issues related to different aspects of my professional transition, networking a little more successfully, and getting a freelance business up and running.
  3. Again, I think it will depend on the situation. I’ve been moody/brooding in terms of the on-going family medical issue. Manipulative? I don’t think so—though if need be, I will in terms of the above mentioned on-going family medical issue.
  4. I think again, this will depend on the situation. Have I been paranoid in terms of the family medical issue? Slightly…only when it was really a fifty/fifty chance…I’m not quite as paranoid…though that can always change. Secretive? Well, possibly in terms of the different ideas I’ve had for freelancing.
  5. Well, since I’m still semi self-isolating (and living at home)—there is ample family time. Though I would like to try to have more lunch (or coffee) meetups with friends this year.

The Cancer full moon is also passing through my 9th house (or my ‘Big Picture’ zone). This is the time to deal with issues relating to travel, study, and so forth. There are two questions that you can ask yourself in regards to the 9th house and the Cancer full moon, and they are:

Have you been fussing too much over the details of your latest problems or tasks?

Is your life and mind expanding or narrowing?

If I were to number the above questions one and two, my answers would be:

  1. This is probably both a yes and a no component to the answer. Yes—I’m over thinking things, and not just sitting and jotting down all the different ideas/thoughts/projects or whatever else is coming to mind. On the other hand, I can say that the answer is no, and I’m just not doing really anything because I’m preoccupied with the family medical situation.
  2. I’m striving to make progress on expanding my life and mind instead of allowing them to narrow.

A goal this year is to expand the amount of content I’m creating not just in amount—but in terms of topics covered. I’m going to try to create content on different areas of science, history, geography, social sciences, art history, and crafts (photography, cross-stitching/needlepoint, creating jewelry, and then also teaching myself mosaics, glass etching, wood burning, and painting).

The goals for this full moon period are going to include:

  1. Continuing with my nightly meditations and oracle card drawings, and trying to work in at least one morning meditation session.
  2. Draft my three-to-five (or ten) year plan (with yearly/quarterly/monthly/bi-weekly goals)
  3. Finish at least one more non-fiction (or get at least 75% through one)
  4. Start working through at least part of another personal/professional development e-course.

Also keeping the following two phrases in mind: ‘progress over perfection’, and ‘you can’t start thenext chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one’.

I’ve also chosen my words for 2023: change, strength, health, self-care, and purpose.

What is your word (or words) for 2023?

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Peaking around the corner at 2023: Gemini Full Moon Goals

09
Dec
2022

So, we’re entered the full moon for December on the 7th, and I’m a couple days late in posting…This means that there are now only twenty-two days left in 2022. I have no idea how I feel about that fact, nor do I have any idea how I feel about 2023…other than hoping it goes (or at least ends) a little better than this year is going to be ending.

As I’ve been reflecting back on the past several years—there may be a ‘economic gap’ on my resume—it isn’t a ‘experience gap’—I have added in the science/medical/health content creation, blogger, and writer to my resume (and acknowledged the creative blog as well).

Before I get carried away in the direction of reflections and what I may or may not have accomplished this year (that will be the topic for at least one or two posts at the beginning of the year)—back to the topic at hand: December’s full moon.

Wednesday, the moon moved through the Gemini constellation, and there are questions that one can contemplate during the days surrounding that transition. If one looks at “Moonology: working with the magic of lunar cycles” by Yasmin Boland, those five questions are:

Have I been gossipy, superficial, or flighty this month?

Have I been glossing over other people’s feelings?

Have I been too quick to change my mind, or too restless?

Have I been too much of a silver-tongued hustler?

Have I done enough reading to keep expanding my mind?

If I were to number the above questions one-to-five, my answers would be as follows:

  1. Well, I’m still self-isolating for the most part—so I don’t think I’ve been gossipy or superficial this month. Flighty…yeah, I’ve been a little flighty this month, but considering the ongoing family medical drama (that is still ongoing and acting like a roller coaster)…not surprising that I’m a little flighty.
  2. I don’t think I’ve been glossing over people’s feelings either this month.
  3. This depends on what we’re talking about—I haven’t changed my mind in terms of pivoting into remote/online/contract writing and/or data analysis position and trying to start my own freelance company. Being restless—maybe a little, but hey—dealing with a family medical issue (which has entered month four), the damn SARS-CoV2 virus is here to stay, and I’m not sure which way is up anymore.
  4. Nope.
  5. Working on this—I’ve realized this year that I go through cycles when it comes to reading non-fiction. I have enough non-fiction books that I really shouldn’t buy any new ones next year—or at least make sure that I’ve read at least three books for every book I think of buying.

So I’m also going to see what house the moon will be transition through during this time. Using my rising sign (which is Scorpio), the Gemini constellation is moving through my eighth house—the focus of this house on “death and rebirth, reinvention and transformation”.

Thanks to the SARS-CoV2 virus, I’ve spent majority of the past three years doing serious self-reflection and personal/professional development. I’ve decided the direction I want to head in for my career transition—remote science/medical/health communications, with the long-term goal of having a successful freelance business within both that realm and creative/hobby side as well. Therefore, I have allowed the ‘bench lab scientist’ to ‘die’ and I’m going to be reinventing myself in 2023 as a successful science/medical/health communicator.

So this is the time to try to find balance between slowing down, rushing to learn things, being real with people, money, and determining one’s self worth.

Therefore my small goal list for the last few weeks of 2022 (and the first few weeks of 2023), will include:         

  1. Setting up my master 2023 habit-tracking journal. I had fairly good success with the 2022 master habit-tracking journal (just had to remember to take time towards the end of each month to finish setting up the next month—especially towards the end of the year)
  2. Continue reading one of the many non-fiction books that I’d started during the last half of 2022
  3. Finish getting the second website/blog up and running, as it will be one of the major parts of my online portfolio for science/medical/health communications
  4. Get the ‘writing/working’ station setup in the bedroom…aka rearrange the room
  5. Figure out an schedule/calendar for various sites (LinkedIn, the creative blog/website, and the science/medical/health website), plus figure out the other social media sites that I want to use to promote both blogs

But above all, remind myself—that I’m making progress and that is what I should be striving for: progress over perfection, the ‘okay’ draft over the ‘polished/perfect’ never published draft.

Here is to the last full moon of 2022, and sending out happy thoughts and vibes to everyone, and fingers crossed that going into 2023 and beyond—things calm down, and we all figure out what our individual (and global) new ‘normal’ looks like.

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Baby steps…functional resume created…brainstorming more ideas:Taurus Full Moon in Review

07
Dec
2022

So the moon will be entering its last full moon stage for 2022 tonight—but we’re getting rain, so I won’t be able to view it. That means there are only 24 days left in 2022…That also means I need to look back over the goals I set for the Taurus full moon before looking ahead to the Gemini full moon.

The goals that I had set for the Taurus full moon included:

  1. Change up my breakfast routine–aiming to try to get more protein and fruits
  2. Work on the second blog–getting the about me and home pages written, in addition to hopefully at least one or two blog posts written and posted as well. I’d also like to start brainstorming ideas of communications pieces that can be added to the portfolio section of the website.
  3. Semi-continuation of the above goal–brainstorm ideas for communication pieces that could go in the ‘featured’ section of my LinkedIn profile
  4. Have a functional format of my resume ready to be optimized for job applications
  5. Work on fleshing out my definition of ‘success’ and creating a digital vision board to go with it

So how did I do with each of those goals?

Well—I managed to make progress on two of them:

I’m slowly switching up my breakfast routine to also include oatmeal with fruits and nuts, and waffles (not the healthiest choice—but a little better than just the blueberry muffin).

I have a functional format of my resume finally created—and have already used it for a potential job. I really detest trying to summarize twenty years of work into like two pages (currently its basically three pages). I have summarized (more or less) the past twenty years of my life (grad school to current) into three pages.

The other three goals I’m still working on—the second blog/website while it is technically ‘live’—I need to get the correct copy up on a couple of the pages (about me and the home pages), plus a blog post or two; I’m still working on fleshing out what my definition of ‘success’ is…mainly in terms of breaking it down to ‘success in x area of life’; and I’m still working on brainstorming ideas for different types of communication pieces that could go on both the blog and the featured section of my blog.

So—forty percent of hitting goals is better than zero. True, I could have done more work on trying to get the second blog up and running, and brainstorming ideas—but I’m also granting myself grace considering how totally hellish the past few months have been.

One of the tasks for the next few weeks—start fleshing out the goals for 2023 and beyond. Mainly start figuring out the long-term goals in regards to several of the level-10 life areas (personal development, spirituality, finances, career/professional development, hobbies/crafts, and health/fitness).

Though I’m also going to be trying to give myself the gift of self-acceptance especially when it comes to not getting everything done due to anxiety going sky-high or stress or any number of reasons why I decide to turn off the computer at night and work on the needlepoint projects.

Anxiety, stress, and depression aren’t going to be fading quickly—but I can really start trying to manage, control, and possibly even avoid prolong episodes of each—by protecting my time, and improving my self-care routine/schedule.

What are some of your favorite stress and/or anxiety relief methods/practices?

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Focusing on what I can control: Goals for the Taurus Full Moon

08
Nov
2022

So the moon will have entered its latest full moon stage sometime tonight—and will also be a lunar eclipse as well (actually this was early morning—and we were overcast, so even if I’d gotten up early I wouldn’t have seen it). This full moon is also referred to as the Beaver Full moon, and since it’s an eclipse—it’s a ‘beaver blood full moon’.

There are twenty-two days left in November, and a total fifty-three days left in 2022. Looking further ahead to the start of 2023—I’m going to send up a wish/happy thought that it will be a little mellower, and not quite as bumpy as 2022 has been.

Depending on our schedule for the weekend, I’m going to try to get in at least a partial walk at Boomer Lake this weekend, with the camera (might not carry all the gear though).

In terms of some self-reflection during this time, there are some questions one can ask themselves (taken from “Moonology: working with the magic of the lunar cycles” by Yasmin Boland), and they are:

Have I been lazy or overly self indulgent this month?

Have I been too obsessed with money or status symbols?

Have I been stubborn, jealous, or possessive?

Have I been doing too much comfort eating?

Have I done enough exercise?

If I were to number the above questions 1-5, my answers would be:

  1. I think it depends on what aspect of life we’re talking about…In terms of having a set fitness routine—yes, I’ve been semi-lazy over the past month (and if I’m totally honest it’s been longer than that), I just haven’t been in the mood to try to get the dog and cats out of the room so that I could a workout. In terms of being overly self-indulgent, I’m trying to curb the spending (again). I have deleted various games off the kindle, and the only splurges at times now are more e-books.
  2. No—I’m not obsessed with status symbols or money. Money is necessary for survival in today’s society. Therefore, I’m going to make sure that I’m earning enough money to survive, thrive, and be happy—nothing more and nothing less.
  3. Any and everyone would tell you that I’m stubborn. I freely admit to being stubborn—I think it is the one thing that got me through school (public and college) and all four positions after grad school as well. I’m trying to avoid the comparison trap of jealousy—everyone is on his or her own journeys/paths and no two are the same. I’m also trying to strengthen my personal boundaries—so I am slightly ‘possessive’ of my time alone and my winding down time. I’ve noticed that if I don’t ‘unplug’ by a certain time I start to get agitated and that won’t do in the evenings (or really at any time).
  4. I’m sticking semi with last year’s answer of yes/no. I really don’t like the phrase ‘comfort food’ as (to me) it screams of the diet culture industry. Food is meant to both comfort us and fuel us; and hearing the phrase ‘comfort food’ makes me think of counting calories, containers, and wondering what type of exercise I need to do to burn off the calories. Therefore—yes, I’m eating food that comforts me (including sweets and chips) but for the most part those are limited to the weekends. I’m still working on healing my relationship with food—which includes trying to listen to my body’s signs of when I need to be fueling it.
  5. As I mentioned in my summary of the Aries full moon—I’ve figured out what types of movement I’d be happy doing—just haven’t set a schedule yet. I’m trying to make sure that I’m not sitting on my butt all day—but I also cancelled my BeachbodyOnDemand subscription back in September since I seldom made use of it. Now I’m more of the mindset of turning on music and lifting weights or having a impromptu solo dance party.

Then I should also look to see what house it is passing through as well—and for me, Taurus passes through my seventh house—or my “love zone”. This is the time that we spend a little energy on other people, instead of making everything about ourselves.

For me, currently there are no romantic relationships (I’m still trying to get my life in some semblance of order), I’m still not working, therefore that means focusing on other relationships—(family, and friends).

In terms of trying to spend time with friends—while everyone has claimed that we’ve moved out the ‘pandemic’ stage and into the ‘epidemic’ stage—there is now the flu to worry about (since majority of people aren’t wearing a mask)—I have been trying to get back into the routine of meeting a friend for lunch once a month.

It will be the turkey holiday soon—my older brother and his family are suppose to be in state that week—so there may be a small family get together at some point (if nothing else hopefully see the elder sibling).

It seems since we’ve hit the ‘20s’—each year tries to out do the previous. The world is tumbling in a downwards spiral—though I hope that at least in the US we can stem it for a while by having a blue wave on election night.

So if I were to pick a couple of things to work on during the Taurus full moon period they would be:

  1. Change up my breakfast routine (to continue to work on mending my relationship with food)–try adding in oatmeal with fruits/nuts, or yogurt with fruits/nuts at least twice a week. Both to get away from the usual blueberry muffin, but to also try adding in a little more protein, fiber, and fruit to my diet.
  2. Work on the second blog–getting the about me and home pages written and functional.
  3. Brainstorm ideas: blog posts (both blogs), portfolio pieces, and featured pieces (for LinkedIn profile)
  4. Get the damn functional resume written and ready to be optimized for different job applications
  5. Work on fleshing out my definition of ‘success’ and creating a digital vision board to go with it

There are a little over seven weeks left in 2022—so while I’m focusing on finishing the year strong (resume, LI profile, updated websites, and so forth), I also need to start fleshing out the goals for 2023 and beyond. I know that 2023 isn’t going to start nice and easy (slim possibility of the family medical issue being resolved by then)—so I need to really focus on making sure that I’m controlling what is in the realm of my control—emotions, thoughts, and my day-to-day schedule.

Anxiety, stress, and depression aren’t going to be fading quickly—but I can really start trying to manage, control, and possibly even avoid prolong episodes of each—by protecting my time, and improving my self-care routine/schedule.

What are some of your favorite stress and/or anxiety relief methods/practices?

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To summarize the Aries Full Moon Goals: Progress not Perfection

07
Nov
2022

So the moon will be entering its next full moon cycle for the year tomorrow night—which means that I should look back at the goals that I had set for the Aries full moon.

So what were my goals for the Aries full moon?

Well, they included:

  1. Making a list of things I would enjoy doing in terms of intentional movement–and then trying to devise a schedule.
  2. Have at least two mini-book reviews written and published on various sites
  3. Work through at least part of a personal/professional development course
  4. Continue reading (and possibly finishing) at least one non-fiction book that I’ve started

So how did I do with each of them?

List of things I enjoy doing in terms of intentional movement:

Those things include:

  1. Walking (nature walks, taking Chaos for a walk, walks with friends, and ‘window’ shopping)
  2. Weight lifting (as long as I stay away from lunges and push-ups)
  3. Cardio (can be a DVD workout, impromptu solo dance parties, riding my bike, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, and ebing outside)
  4. Yoga, Pilates, and stretching

Have I designed a schedule yet? Nope—this is in large part due to both the ongoing family medical issue and then dealing with the pets (most want to be in the same room all the time—and trying to lift weights when you have cats and dogs wanting in your personal space—not fun or easy).

Two mini-book reviews written and published on various sites:

The two books that I’ve gotten around to writing mini-book reviews over were:

  1. Bittersweet Promises (Montgomery Ink Legacy #1) by Carrie Ann Ryan
  2. Always the One for Me (Wilder Brothers #2) by Carrie Ann Ryan

I’m hoping to finish reading Hunted in Darkness and getting that book review posted by the end of the weekend.

Watch/work through at least one module of a personal/professional development e-course:

I managed to watch a couple of short courses on Skillshare and they were:

  1. 3X your productivity with this weekly planning guide
  2. Content Calendar made easy: Save time and develop a personal brand
  3. Blogging rituals and routines: 10 secrets for increased blogging productivity.

I briefly reviewed each of the courses in my ‘October in Review‘ post.

Finish at least one non-fiction book:

Well, I’ve started a couple more non-fiction books—but haven’t finished any of them yet. As I mentioned in my ‘October in Review’ post—I go in cycles when it comes to reading non-fiction.

The best way to illustrate what I mean—oscillation waves, these waves can vary in both height and width:

That is how I view my reading cycles (regardless if it’s non-fiction or fiction).

Currently my non-fiction trend is more of the top—it’s taking more time to finish a book, and then I start numerous books, and it’s a ‘uphill’ battle to finish one (or more).

Whereas my fiction reading trend (and non-fiction trends in certain months)—resembles the bottom oscillation wave, I can read several books within a short period and have no problems moving on to another book (or going back and re-reading books).

So—I know that I need to try to decrease the ‘height’ of the non-fiction oscillation wave to have it match the height of the non-fiction oscillation wave over the next few weeks/months.

Well—I managed to accomplish about seventy percent of my goals for the Aries full moon. The only one that I didn’t get ‘accomplished’ was the non-fiction reading—which based on how October went, I wasn’t shocked to see that I didn’t accomplish it.

Seventy percent works well with the motto that I’m using for the final quarter of 2022—‘Progress over Perfection’.

Sometimes it is difficult to catch all the little negative stories/thoughts that run through our heads—so when I don’t catch them right away, it means I’ve accidentally let the inner critic/imposter syndrome out to play.

But, I’m getting better at catching them…I think they only ‘played’ for a few days during the Aries full moon.

So now, I’m going to celebrate this win—and then look ahead to the Taurus full moon.

How did you do with your personal/professional goals last month?

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Reading, writing, and planning: Aries Full Moon Goals

09
Oct
2022

So the moon will be entering its next full moon cycle for the year probably tonight (at least for me). This means that we’re not quite a third of the way through October—but time does seem to be going a little quicker. I’m hoping that the last quarter of the year goes a little smoother…but I’m also not going to hold my breath on it either.

So what are some of the questions we can reflect on during this time?

Have I been hotheaded, selfish, or argumentative this month?

Have I been going too fast or been impulsive this month?

           

Have I been brash, blunt, or too competitive?

           

Have I ignored other people’s finer sensibilities?

           

Have I had enough fun?

So before answering the questions, I do need to point out that it is the beginning of the month, so I actually going to answer these questions based on 1) how I want to behave during the coming month, but also 2) how I behaved during the past couple of weeks. So as usually I’m going to number the questions 1 to 5 as I answer them.

  1. I would have to say no—I haven’t been hotheaded, selfish or argumentative this month (a couple months ago—yes I was slightly argumentative then). We’re still dealing with a family medical crisis that may or may not resolve the way we’d like it to—so I could be considered semi-selfish in just wanting the whole ordeal over one way or another.
  2. Considering the month I’m currently having and the past two months, I don’t think I’ve been overly impulsive this month nor do I think I’ve been going too fast (possibly going a tad too slow). I know what I need to do—but currently the other issue is taking majority of my concentration and I’m working on ensuring that I don’t impulsively spend too much money.
  3. No, I haven’t been brash, blunt or too competitive—this month. I was slightly brash and blunt a month or so ago—but that particular circumstance called for me being brash and blunt (and I’m still not going to apologize for it either). While I understand the need for competition (to ensure that the best person is hired)—I truthfully think that there probably is more than enough work for everyone who wants it—so I’m only going to try to be competitive with myself—and only the person I was yesterday.
  4. Well I would say this year it would depend on the situation and the people involved. While I do try to empathize with others—I’m also starting to draw my boundaries and stating what I will and won’t do in particular situations. I also realize that sometimes things can get a little tense and sometimes conversations may need to be put on hold.
  5. What is this word fun? While there are hopes that we’re moving from a ‘pandemic’ to an ‘epidemic’—we’re still stuck dealing with the damn SARS-CoV2 virus, and considering the past nine weeks (and counting)—I really haven’t had much fun, and am still working on ways of adding ‘enjoyment’ into my day-to-day routine.

Aries is moves through my sixth house (or my daily work and health zone). This house is where we can sit and reflect on who we are (both in terms of professional/work and personal/health) and decide to work on those aspects that we don’t like.

For the past two years I’d made various ‘commitments’ such as pushing play daily on streaming workouts or committing to intentional movements each day. Well, I canceled my Beachbody-on-demand (and technically my Beachbody) subscriptions this past month—for whatever reason, I’d prefer to pop in a DVD than trying to log into the website…the DVD player relies on power (and not being overly dusty), while streaming workout relies on power plus a good internet connection and the website not being down.

Therefore I’m still in the process of trying to develop a good mix of things I like to do (weight lifting, walking, hiking, and so forth) and making a ‘schedule’ that I can more or less stick with—because life has been throwing more lemons and limes at me than I can use for making various drinks and dishes.

I have a good idea of what I’m wanting to do career wise—it’s a matter now of making a schedule that will work with everything that is going on in life right now—plus I’m still dealing with the feeling of burnout (but not just in terms of career—currently its in terms of everything).

Since I’m pretty sure that this Aries full moon is going to be a very chaotic time, I’m going to limit the number of goals that I’m going to be setting. The goals for the Aries full moon will include:

  1. Write out a list of things I’d enjoy doing in terms of intentional movement (weight lifting, walking, cardio, yoga, and so forth)—and try to devise a schedule.
  2. Have at least two mini-book reviews written and posted on various sites
  3. Work through at least part of a personal/professional development course
  4. Continue reading (and possibly finishing) at least one non-fiction book that I’ve already started.

The motto for this quarter is ‘Progress over Perfection’

Four goals for the Aries full moon–and hopefully four goals that will get accomplished. I know that I have an extra one or two listed above–those are bonus goals…I’m trying to just remember to take things a day at a time, and even then–remember to take things an hour at a time, and if need be a minute at a time.

What personal/professional goal are you working towards this quarter?

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Managed craft time–now to work on time management

08
Oct
2022

So the moon will be entering its next full moon stage this weekend…which means I should look back at the goals I set for the Pisces full moon before looking ahead to the Aries (or October) full moon.

The past two months or so have not been the greatest (and that is putting it extremely mild how bad its been), so I truthfully have no idea on well I met the goals for the Pisces full moon.

The goals that I had set for last month’s full moon were:

  1. Work on developing a ‘workable’ schedule for the day/week/month. I know that part of my problem is that I’m consistent in being inconsistent. If I really want to make freelance work—I need to improve my time/project management skills.
  2.  Make sure that I’m making time for crafts/hobbies and not just falling back into the ‘bad routine’ of work, work, and more work.
  3. Continue working on both blogs (coming up with editorial calendars, getting the copy written for various pages on both, and making sure that I have at least four to five blog posts written for the science/medical/health communications blog).
  4. Work through at least part of one personal/professional e-course.

So, I only set four goals for the Pisces full moon. So how did I do with each of them?

Personal/professional development e-course (#4):

I will be totally truthful in the fact that I really haven’t looked at any of the personal/professional development e-courses that I’ve bought over the past few years. They’re there—I just haven’t felt like picking one and starting to work through it, though I have I think three (or maybe four) e-courses on my ’43 things to do before turning 43’ list…so maybe I should start trying to work through one of those.

Craft time (#2):

I can say that I have been making time for crafts—as I’ve been spending time on Canva weekly designing graphics/images for different posts for LinkedIn, and there has been some coloring and photography thrown in there as well.

In addition, I’m starting another cross-stitch project.

Working on both blogs (#3):

I haven’t managed to make much progress on the new blog/website—mainly due to being in the middle of ‘writers’ block—at least for that site. I need to develop a editorial calendar for each blog and get the copy written for both sites as well. Writing the blog posts should be a little easier (at least for the creative/reflective/hobby blog) once I have at least the editorial calendar created.

Developing a ‘flexible’ but ‘workable’ daily/weekly/monthly schedule (#1):

In terms of the ‘workable’ schedule—I’m still consistent in being inconsistent. I know that I have to find a new normal—and truthfully, I think I’m putting that off—because once I totally acknowledge the fact that my ‘new’ routine will be totally different from my previous—it means I’m acknowledging the fact that either a) the family member in the hospital isn’t coming home; or b) they’ll be coming home but with potentially severe restrictions (and in need of a lot of care).

So I guess you can say I managed to get a quarter of the goals accomplished–which some would say isn’t great–but considering the month I had (and how bad I can see the upcoming months being)–I’ll take it as a major win.

I know that things aren’t going to be easy for the next couple of months (or even years)—but it’s time to slowly start stepping out into that unknown territory and carving my own path.

I’m still working on addressing the bits and pieces form previous chapters of my life: imposter syndrome, inner critic, negative self-talk, and feelings of inadequacy.

It will take time to work through these issues—though acknowledging that they’re there and offering them ‘space’, is a step in the right direction of self-care/self-acceptance, mindfulness/self-awareness and healing.

I already decided that the quote for the last quarter of 2022 was going to be ‘Progress Over Perfection’.

The new goal—trying to show up each day, and possibly getting one or two small things accomplished—, which will fulfill the quote of progress over perfection.

With that said—what are some of your favorite fall craft hobbies?

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Time/Project Management: Center to the the Pisces goals of the Hunters Moon

11
Sep
2022

So the moon will be entering its latest full moon stage this weekend…and can also be referred to as the Hunters Moon—as it’s the full moon closest to the fall equinox (Sept 22). Since it should be transitioning through the Pisces constellation this weekend—it means that we’re a third of the way through September…

So if I looked to the book “Moonology: working with the magic of lunar cycles” by Yasmin Boland, I’d see that there are five questions that one can ask themselves during this time:

Have I been dreamy to the point of not getting enough done and making silly errors?

Have I been overly sensitive and too easily hurt?

Have I been acting like a martyr? Or too easily led?

Have I been meditating every day, and if not, why not?

Have I been in touch with my intuitive side? Following my dreams and hunches?

So if I were to number the above questions 1-5, I think that my answers would be as follow:

  1. I would have to say that I haven’t been too dreamy lately…too distracted, upset, semi-depressed, and totally irritated with the world? Yes, I have allowed myself to be ‘distracted’ from things and not get enough done (especially since I have a huge to-be accomplished list that I need to write out and start tackling).
  2. The past month has been difficult, so I may be a little more sensitive than usual (and I do admit to losing my temper), and am trying to find a nice balance in dealing with certain people.
  3. Nope
  4. With the use of the app soothing pod, I’ve been able to meditate for anywhere from two minutes to over ten, every night for the past two months.
  5. As I mentioned last year—I’m trying to get better at this—I’m good at being in touch with my ‘analytical’ side, but had spent years ‘ignoring’ my intuitive side. I’m trying to get better at tuning in to my intuitive side/gut. I am slowly trying to follow my dream of having a more ‘independent’ career away from the bench. I’m leaning more and more in the direction of freelance/remote/contract writing (science/medical/health) with the possibility of data analysis or project management style career. I’ve decided this route—because I want something that can be location independent, and also allow me some time independence and project independence as well.

So in addition to the self-reflection questions, one should also check to see what house or zone the moon is moving through as well. For me, the Pisces full moon is moving through my 5th house (according to my rising sign), which is also known as the “kids, romance, and creativity zone”.

I’m still semi self-isolating—I am now starting to occasionally meeting a friend for lunch, trying to get a walk in at Boomer, and visiting a family member in the hospital. I do plan on getting my booster shot hopefully within the next couple of weeks (the new Pfizer one has just been approved).

I’ve realized that when (and if) I move—it will have to be to an area where renting a small one (possibly two) bedroom house won’t be super expensive—the reason, my dog. Chaos is not an apartment dog, nor will he ever become one…I will need a place that has a decent backyard for him to run around in.

Only ‘kids’ I’m currently around are the furry variety (two dogs and three cats), as my niece is out in CA (though they may come for a visit next month), and if I meet up with one friend for lunch—we can do it during the week, so her daughter is in school.

I need to try to start scheduling more time for crafts (cross-stitching, jewelry design/creation, and even photography), as I really haven’t been doing as much as I was either earlier in the year or this time last year.

The comfort zone when it comes to crafts has included photography, knitting, reading, quilting/sewing (when I have a working sewing machine), and now cross-stitching. Hopefully over the next few months I can also add jewelry design/creation and maybe even mosaic design/creation to the list as well.

So what are my goals going to be for the Pisces Full Moon?

  1. Work on developing a ‘workable’ schedule for the day/week/month. I know that part of my problem is that I’m consistent in being inconsistent. If I really want to make freelance work—I need to improve my time/project management skills.
  2.  Make sure that I’m making time for crafts/hobbies and not just falling back into the ‘bad routine’ of work, work, and more work.
  3. Continue working on both blogs (coming up with editorial calendars, getting the copy written for various pages on both, and making sure that I have at least four to five blog posts written for the science/medical/health communications blog).
  4. Work through at least part of one personal/professional e-course.

Four goals, and while only one (the last) will actually have a ‘yes/no’ in terms of completion—the rest can also be considered on-going/continuous goals—but if one doesn’t start them…one can in theory never continue them…

Bits and pieces from previous chapters of our lives usually find their way into our current chapters that we’re trying to write…the bits and pieces from my previous chapters unfortunately right now include: imposter syndrome, inner critic, negative self-talk, and feelings of inadequacy.

I know that I can work through all of those feelings, and will be doing so—but also just acknowledging them is a huge step in the right direction of self-care/self-acceptance, and healing.

Therefore, I’m also going to keep the following quote at the forefront: ‘progress over perfection’, and knowing that I’m slowly starting the next chapter of my life (as I’m done re-reading the last one), in addition to limiting the influence of others in terms of what I decide to do with my future.

Question time: what are some of your favorite crafts?

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