Well we got above freezing today, and we’ll be above freezing for awhile tomorrow before the next winter storm comes through. So while I was out in the yard filling up the bird feeders for the birds, squirrels, raccoons, and any other animal that wants to eat some sun flower seeds I’d noticed that there was still ice around parts of the pond.

What I find so cool about the ice, is that I’m pretty sure in the middle of those two ice cones are just little twigs, or possibly the stems of a some weeds that were growing at the edge of the pond last fall.

It’s been an yo-yo winter in terms of the temperature differences (we’ve had some nice days, followed by some really cold days), but luckily all the winter weather that has hit usually disappears within a couple of days. It will be interesting with next storm coming through to see how quickly it moves through, how much precipitation falls, and how long it stays around.

So it does seem that the universe is giving me the hint that it will soon be time to close the door on this chapter of my life (at least professionally for now). My current position is up in about three and a half months (give or take a few days)–it’s scary to realize that Thanksgiving is that close; and no one can give me a solid answer on whether or not it will be extended. One song that has been going through my mind almost on constant replay has been “Maybe” by Sick Puppies. I first heard this song (and of the group) when I was out in Boston; and right now it seems to almost be becoming my theme song. So here’s their video via youtube.

Well most of the afternoon was again spent sitting outside in the backyard enjoying the slight breeze that coming through the yard and noticing that numerous butterflies were starting to come through the yard. Then someone noticed that there was a duck on the side of the house by the bird feeder. It turns out that the female mallard came by for some of the bird seed that was on the ground.

It was slightly unusual in that the male wasn’t with the female, but he could have been back at the nest guarding the eggs (or chicks if they’ve hatched), giving momma mallard some time away from the nest (since it is mothers day you know).

Considering our close proximity to Boomer Lake, it isn’t all that surprising that when there is water in the creek, at least one pair of mallards come by for grazing on the bird seeds.

Well it’s looking like today’s photography challenge is going to be getting posted tomorrow. The pictures were rather larger and my phone isn’t happy trying to email them to myself (I know that I could plug the phone into the computer & download them–but that becomes even a bigger pain of trying to locate them in iPhotos library for uploading).

The weekend is going to be spent trying to get a lot of personal & professional development things taken care of, plus the usual yard and house work. I’m hoping that I can get back on track with certain things and get the anxiety under control and start moving forward with the transition plan. It has been helping to see the vision board every time that I turn on my computer, and that has been helping me move (even in baby steps) forward, when I would really like to curl up in a ball at times and forget that the world exists.

So today marks the presence of the new moon, and the fact that we’re halfway through the month of April. So in a way it’s fitting that the new moon is in Aries (as Aries is the zodiac sign for those born between March 21^st and April 19^th). So with the moon going through Aries, there are quite a few things that are going on during this time period. There isn’t a review of last month’s new moon goals (since I was sick and forgot to make them).

For starters—it can be considered a time of starting over (since Aries is the first zodiac sign, and therefore this can also be considered “the start of a new year”). Therefore this is the time for more planning, but is also a time for making an action plan based on the earlier planning.

So things to do during this period: Make a 12-month plan (I already had this on my weekly schedule of things to do, but will move it up in the week). My 12-month plan will probably be a blend of both electronic documentation and actually writing out on paper with a pen.

Step outside my comfort zone (in terms of networking and trying to figure out what the next job will be). I should also try to step outside my comfort zone in terms of trying to figure out how to get back into workout routine, but I’m not a social workout person–so I’ll probably stick with just doing my workouts via beachbody, and meeting friends for walking around Boomer Lake.

Have some fun—try to take the dog for an evening walk, work on crafts, and just unplug from social media and the world every once in awhile.

Focus on myself (what I need, where I’m going and so forth)—this could be the time when I should try to go and get my haircut, donate some clothes, and so forth.

So that’s just focusing the fact that the new moon is in Aries. When I look to see what house it is in—it’s in my 6^th house (or my daily work and health zone). This means that for the next two weeks I need to focus on both my daily work and health routines.

This is an area that I definitely need to work on (namely making sure that I’m getting my workout in daily—I’ve been falling into the habit of just saying that I’ve walked for 30 or 40 minutes a day and have called it good). I know what I need to do (workout out daily and start getting my nutrition back under control), though right now my main enemy isn’t total laziness, but a combination of stress, anxiety, with a touch of laziness (or more specifically tiredness).

So, I know this has been a rambling post on everything that one should be focusing on during the Aries New Moon—therefore I’ll end it with my goals for the next two weeks:

1) Workout daily (Continue doing Yoga Booty Ballet, via BeachbodyOnDemand)

2) Make my new overall 12-month plan (plus the 12-month plan for each subcategory; then start monthly/weekly/daily breakdown to get to those 12-month goals).

3) Get my nutrition back under control (only buy an occasional fruit cup at work for a snack)

4) Have some fun—take the dogs for an evening walk, or continue working on my afghan (unplug from social media and the news).

Hopefully by sitting down and starting a new overall 12-month plan (with then new breakdowns), I can hopefully get the anxiety and stress under control and be more willing and able to step outside my comfort zone to determine exactly who it is I’m meant to be.