30 before 31: A Year in Review

Last year I made a 30 before 31 list - a list of 30 reasonably-sized goals or projects I wanted to complete before I turned 31.  My 31st birthday is almost upon me, so I thought it would be good to look at how I did with completing the goals I set for myself.

Completed //  In Progress  //  Not Completed

1. Make my blog more awesome and increase readership - I moved to a better blogging platform, started a weekly feature to share pagan music, and I've now found a focus for my blog that most inspires me.  I participated in Bloggiesta in March & September, which was super helpful.  I also tried my hand at reviewing an album, which had mixed results.  I am still really proud of myself for doing that, because it was rather out of my comfort zone!
2. Get my 1^st degree initiation - As it turns out, I was denied initiation and I was released from my coven as of March 24.  I'm still regrouping from that and mostly avoiding public rituals for awhile.  I'm still proud of myself for completing the work, though.
3. Clean out my old room at my parents’ house - I made a big dent when I visited them earlier this year, and found some interesting treasures in the process, like an envelope full of letters from my pen-pals.  I still need to tackle the rest of the boxes.
4. Get a tattoo to commemorate finishing my 1^st degree of the mark given to me by Gwynn Ap Nudd - I contacted a tattoo shop recommended by many friends, but failed to follow up on that after the degree kerfluffle.  I really need to contact them again to set up an appointment - I've been getting lots of pokes from Gwynn about that.
5. Take a real vacation with Jack (even if it’s only a weekend getaway)
6. Get a new primary care physician - I've had 2 appointments since July.  She's really nice, as are her staff, though they are not all as competent as I would like.
7. Get a rheumatologist - I'm hemming and hawing about this one.  There wasn't much my last rheumatologist could do, other than prescribe drugs that didn't work and repeat the same old nonsense about exercise.  However, my fibromyalgia is getting progressively worse, so I need to do something.
8. Get back on migraine meds
9. Talk to a doctor about getting on anxiety meds
10. Take at least one creative writing class - I looked into creative writing classes at the local community college, but I don't have the energy to take classes on top of a full-time job right now.
11. Break into freelance writing and/or editing
12. Create a kick-ass writing portfolio
13. Get a better, more fulfilling job
14. Meet Jack’s parents
15. Sell/donate more of my unwanted books, clothes, etc. - Man there was a great deal of purging during the move, including donations.
16. Finish my British Columbia scrapbook
17. Look into acupuncture - I found out my health insurance covers it now.  Score!  Now to find an acupuncturist who is in my network.
18. Get my college diploma framed
19. Visit Gettysburg again
20. Visit a museum that I’ve never visited before
21. Organize a reunion for high school classmates in the DC area
22. Sit down to cross-stitch once a week - Expecting myself to cross-stitch once a week was far too lofty a goal.  The last time I picked up a cross-stitch project was in the summer, when I sorted the thread from a new kit.  I miss the zen of putting needle and thread to fabric, though.
23. Learn a new craft
24. Cook Thai-style chicken curry from scratch - I've decided to just let the professionals make it for me, since Thai restaurants are generally not all that expensive.  That doesn't change the fact that I want all the curries.
25. Get back into yoga
26. Learn how to use my new camera to take better photos - My skills are still VERY amateur, but I've been playing around with my camera a lot and I think I'm starting to get a handle on better photo taking.
27. Grow my hair long again - I did grow it out to about halfway down my back.  But it started looking scraggly and feeling too heavy with negative emotions, so I ended up cutting it a month ago to right below my shoulders.  (The Barbed Pentacle has an interesting article about hair and energy/magick - careful, it is NSFW!)
28. Learn new hairstyles for said long hair (other than braided or in a ponytail)
29. Start an indoor herb garden - I had a kit and planted it earlier this year, but all the plants died a slow, sad death after they sprouted.  Maybe I should stick to succulents.
30. Go on a photoshoot in the park with Sha-na-na

Man, that's a lot of incomplete goals.  Some of them I've decided to abandon on for various reasons (like being released from my coven, or cutting my hair).  There's a few that I still want to maintain as goals in the coming year.

It was a fun exercise, but I don't think I will do a 31 before 32.  30 goals was a lot, and some were not really feasible or were too "big" for the purposes of the exercise.  Maybe next year I will set just 5-10 goals/projects for myself.  That seems more reasonable, and it will be more likely that I attain everything I set out to do with my year.

Another 30 before 31 update

It's been a few months, and I've knocked a few more things off my 30 before 31 list.  So, I guess that means it's time for another update!

#6 Get a new primary care physician 
#7 Get a rheumatologist

#8 Get back on migraine meds

After months of hemming and hawing, I finally booked an appointment with a new doc for today.  She's really nice (as are her staff), and everything was very efficient.  Bonus - she's right down the street from my house.  The best part was the lack of waiting - I didn't have to wait months for an appointment, and I barely had to wait to see the doctor (at my last doc, I would typically wait 2-3 hours, even with an appointment.  It was ridiculous and disrespectful of my time.)  New doc and I had a chat about my migraines, and she agreed to put me back on Topomax and fiorocet, with a promise that we would revisit if the fiorocet didn't do its job on my emergent headaches. She also tsk-tsk'd that I didn't have a neurologist.

She also asked if I had a rheumatologist, which I don't.  I put #7 on my list since I thought it would be helpful, but after chatting with the new doctor and thinking about it, I think I'm not going to pursue it for now.  There wasn't much my last rheumatologist could do, other than prescribe drugs that didn't work and repeat the same old nonsense about exercise.

And one, and two, and streeeetch!

#17 Look into acupuncture
I found out my health insurance covers it now.  Score!  Now to find an acupuncturist who is in my network.

#27 Grow my hair long again
Well, it's growing.  Slowly.  Right now it's down to about the bottom of my shoulder blades.


#29 Start an indoor herb garden
I got a kit for Christmas, and planted it a couple of months ago.  So technically, I started the garden and completed this goal.  Unfortunately I think my talent for killing plants has struck again.  It's looking very, very sad.  The thyme and rosemary are already dead, and the basil is not too far off.  The parsley is doing okay, but I'm not holding out much hope for the long run.

30 before 31 update

It's been about 6 months since I wrote it, so I thought I'd post a little update about my 30 before 31 list.

Make my blog more awesome and increase readership - working on it!  I moved to a better blogging platform, started a weekly feature to share pagan music, and I've now found a focus for my blog that most inspires me.  I also participated in Bloggiesta in March, which was super helpful. I also contacted someone about working together for a new feature I want to introduce this summer.  I am really proud of myself for doing that, because it was rather out of my comfort zone!

Get my 1^st degree initiation - as it turns out, I was denied initiation and I was released from my coven as of March 24.  I'm still regrouping from that.  Right now I need some downtime, so I've been keeping my personal practice low-key, and I'll be avoiding public rituals and other sorts of pagan gatherings for awhile.

Clean out my old room at my parents’ house - I made a big dent when I visited them a few months ago, and found some interesting treasures in the process, like an envelope full of letters from my pen-pals.  Next time I visit I'll tackle some more of those boxes. 

Get a tattoo of the mark given to me by Gwynn Ap Nudd to commemorate finishing my 1^st degree - I contacted a tattoo shop recommended by many friends, but failed to follow up on that after the degree kerfluffle.  I really need to contact them again to set up an appointment - I've been getting lots of pokes from Gwynn about that.

Grow my hair long again - well, it's growing.  Slowly.  But I'm actually debating cutting it as a release of the negative energies built up from the brou-ha-ha with my former coven.  (The Barbed Pentacle has an interesting article about hair and energy/magick, but be warned that it is definitely NSFW!)

Start an indoor herb garden - I have a kit, I just need to plant it already.


As much as I love to-do lists, approaching this list with that attitude was actually counter-productive.  I mean, the one thing I was was certain would happen (getting my 1st degree initiation) turned out to be a bust.  So instead I've been trying to approach it more like ideas to help me better my life - and if they don't happen, I'll just re-evaluate whether they even needed to happen in the first place.

Bloggiesta Update

I've completed all but one item on my to-do list for Bloggiesta! 

• Spruce up my sidebar - done!  What do you think of the new photo I added for the "about me" widget?  I used Fotoflexer to edit it.
• go through all of my recorded chants to review sound quality and determine which need to be re-recorded - done!  A couple of them need to be re-recorded, but most had better quality than I remembered (given that I recorded them on my crappy computer microphone)
• Create a chants page for posting chants - done!  It's empty right now, but I will be posting one of my chants later this week.
• ADDED: Create a new page for the Monday Music Break - done!  It made sense to add this as a to-do item, to make it easier to find all the entries for this feature.
• Clean up new site design - postponed.  I didn't really time this weekend to devote to my site design, but I'm happy with the way it looks for now.  I'm open to comments about the background, header, etc. to help me make it more appealing.
• Do a couple Blogiesta challenges - done!  I completed 3 4 mini-challenges, and they were all really helpful.
• Clean up Google Reader and Twitter Follow lists - done!  This definitely needs to happen every 6 months or so.

I also took part in this morning's Bloggiesta Twitter party.  I feel like I learned even more, and I had a good time networking and sharing ideas with other bloggers.  If you're on twitter, I'd love it if you'd follow me!

Follow @xedri

Did you participate in Bloggiesta this weekend?  How did it go?  What did you accomplish?

Bloggiesta Mini-Challenges

Here's the mini-challenges I've been working on for Bloggiesta.  I'll keep updating this as I complete them.

 

Mini-Challenge #1: Sidebar Help...What do you REALLY Need?

I worked on this all yesterday afternoon  I changed that ugly "about me" widget and email link to a new picture with actual text about me.  I also removed the RSS feed widget, and added those square buttons for RSS, Pinterest, and Twitter near the top.  I wanted to add the archive back, but I think I'd rather make a separate page for that so it's easier to navigate.

 

Mini-Challenge #2: Make some pages!

I wanted it to be easier for people to find my chants when I post them, instead of sifting through entries, so I made a new page for my chants.  It links to the as-yet-unused "chants" tag.  I did the same for my Monday Music Break feature.  Right now I'm not seeing the bar at the top for the "home" and "chants" pages, though.  I'm sure I'll figure this out soon.  Figured it out!  Hurray!

Mini-Challenge #3: Google Forms
I haven't had any luck soliciting suggestions for pagan musicians for the Monday Music Break (my knowledge only extends so far!), so I thougI ht a form that doesn't require publicly commenting might encourage folks to send suggestions that way.  I read through the challenge and instructions for using Google forms, so now I know how to use this platform if I decide to use it.

Mini-Challenge #4: Twitter and Your Blog
I signed up with dlvr.it to automatically post my blog entries to twitter.
Although the challenge recommends having a separate twitter account for your blog, I already have an established (small) group of people that follow me on twitter, and I honestly don't really use twitter much for my personal use anymore.  So my old twitter handle now belongs primarily to my blog :) 

Follow @xedri

Bloggiesta List

I just found out from Chrisbookarama about a blogging party/blog hop for this weekend called Bloggiesta.  (Ole!)  The party is being hosted by It's All About Books, led by their fearless mascot PEDRO (Plan, Edit, Develop, Review, Organize).  The idea behind Bloggiesta is to keep PEDRO happy by spending these next three days working on perfecting your blog and connecting with other bloggers doing the same thing. I think it's technically designed for book blogs, but a look around the rules and mini-challenges has me thinking I could benefit from participating, too.  After all, my 30 before 31 list includes making my blog more awesome.

So, basically, you come up with a to-do list for your blog, and participate in the mini-challenges on their blog.  All the details for participating are on It's All About Books at the Bloggiesta Starting Line.

Here's my to-do list.  I may revise this over the weekend as I decide what's workable, and I'll try to post updates about mini-challenges over the course of the weekend.

• Spruce up my sidebar
• go through all of my recorded chants to review sound quality and determine which need to be re-recorded
• Create a chants page for posting chants
• ADDED: Create a new page for the Monday Music Break
• Clean up new site design
• Do a couple Blogiesta mini-challenges
• Clean up Google Reader and Twitter Follow lists

  Cheers!

Blog Actualization

Inside, I roar!

At this year's Sacred Space, I attended a workshop on being your authentic self by Lyratah Barrett.  She talked about how we spend too much time in our heads, not experiencing things because of fear.  She also talked about Abraham Maslow and summarized his steps to self-actualization - knowing you are, what you are, your likes & dislikes, your trajectory, your mission, your core values, etc. 

1. Experience things fully and vividly
2. In your life, develop a balance fear and risk
3. Shut out external clues (like other people's opinions) to right vs. wrong, correct reactions to a situation, etc.
4. When in doubt, be honest
5. Be willing to be unpopular
6. Know what works for you
7. Be willing to find out what others' perceptions are of you
8. Focus

There was some neat discussion following this about whether, as a spiritual being in a human experience, one can ever be truly authentic, or if our human experience is only a reflection of our authentic self.  Lyratah also challenged us with several questions, such as "What is your intention/goal in each interaction?" and "Are the challenges you're taking on interfering with or working towards your priorities?"

Although some of what was discussed about pain and choice rattled me for several days afterward, I've been finding myself pondering authenticity in writing.  Is my choice to move my career path to writing an authentic one?  Is my blog, as it is now, helping me work towards my priorities?  Is my writing authentic?  What is my intention in writing in this blog?

When I started this blog back in August, I intended to write about depression and anxiety from a spiritual point of view.  I wrote a few posts to that end, but in all honesty I am not willing to share my deep dark secrets with folks I am not close to.  I am also wasn't ready (mentally or economically) to explore any of the traditional and non-traditional healing modalities to deal with my issues, beyond self care.

What I've realized this week is that music is my healer, and my joy, and one of my biggest spiritual outlets.  Well, okay I knew this already, but what I didn't consciously realize is that sharing music is part of my healing and growth process.  Sharing music on this blog has been incredibly fulfilling to me.  Even if I only have a followers right now (and very few comments *over-dramatic sadface*), it brings me joy and healing to share music that inspires and moves me, and I can hope that it is inspiring or moving or healing for those that listen. 

So after pondering for many months about what to do with this blog, I've decided this is going to be a "pagan music and lifestyle blog."  I'm going to keep sharing music by pagan artists.  I'm also going to share my own music - the chants I write for rituals.  I'm not entirely sure what the lifestyle bit will entail, but probably more of what you've been seeing lately, like photos, crafts I'm working on, and such. 

Are you excited?  I know I am! :)

The never-ending puppy cross-stitch project

How did you all like my Monday Music Break?  I didn't receive any comments, but hopefully I got a few of you dancing or turned on to new music :)

I'm almost done with my puppy cross-stitch project!  Finally.  All I've got left is finishing the little saying at the bottom, "never underestimate the power of a nap."

I worked a good deal on it while watching the Superbowl on Sunday with my boyfriend and roommate.   Like you do.  What can I say, my life is full of weird things that don't seem to go together, but work great for me.

Then last night I finished all the outline back stitching, and started on the words.  Right now it says "underesti" because I ran out of red thread, and my hands started to hurt from holding that tiny hoop for several hours.  And then I'll add all the double French knots that go on the ends of the letters, and be done!  

Of course, those double french knots will probably be the death of me.  I spent a half hour last night trying to remember how to do one, and even with the little illustration on the back of the pattern, I couldn't get it right.  Argh.

Seriously, I just don't get this.  Maybe I can find a helpful video later...

In other news, I recently joined Pinterest, in case anyone is interested in following any of my boards on there.  Right now I'm using the site mostly as inspiration boards for my blog, personal style, and such.  Oh, and I'm also pinning Doctor Who things just for fun.  Of course :)

Whaddya want?

Hey there cats and kittens!

As part of my effort to make my blog more awesome and increase readership, I'd like to find out what sorts of folks are reading my blog, and what sorts of things you would like to see me post about.

Right now I have 1 whole follower (hi Tanya!) and an average of only a few hits per day.  Although I don't expect to ever get thousands of daily hits like some of the popular fashion and lifestyle blogs I'm mildly obsessed with I like to read, a little more discussion on the posts I work so hard on would make my day :)

If you read via other means (an RSS reader, etc.) I'd love it if you left me a comment to let me know.  And please tell me, what do you want to see more of/less of?

Blog hops?  Book reviews?  Information on magickal techniques?  Deep introspective posts about my struggles with depression and anxiety?  Reflections on my spiritual work?  A link wrap-up?

Pictures of mushrooms?

Mushroom, mushroom!

This inquiring mind wants to know!

30 before 31

I've been inpsired by a number of bloggers this year who came up with goal lists for the upcoming year - sort of like New Year's resolutions, but based around goals to finish before your birthday instead.  I liked Elizabeth's post about coming up with a 25 before 26 goal list (she also posted a 23 before 24 list a couple of years ago), and Jen's 30 by 30 list.  I just turned 30 earlier this month (ACK!  Sorry, I'm still not quite over the shock of that one yet).  I thought it would be a great idea to start off my 30s on a positive note by creating my own list of goals to finish before I turn 31 - they're meant to be easy to accomplish in the space of a year, though some are more serious and life-impacting than others.

So here it is - my 30 before 31 list!

1. Make my blog more awesome and increase readership - Always working on this! :)  I moved to a better blogging platform, started a weekly feature to share pagan music, and I've now found a focus for my blog that most inspires me.  I also participated in Bloggiesta in March, which was super helpful.
2. Get my 1^st degree initiation - as it turns out, I was denied initiation and I was released from my coven as of March 24.  I'm still regrouping from that.
3. Clean out my old room at my parents’ house - I made a big dent the last time I went home!
4. Get a tattoo to commemorate finishing my 1^st degree of the mark given to me by Gwynn Ap Nudd
5. Take a real vacation with Jack (even if it’s only a weekend getaway)
6. Get a new primary care physician - I had an appointment on 7/11.
7. Get a rheumatologist
8. Get back on migraine meds
9. Talk to a doctor about getting on anxiety meds
10. Take at least one creative writing class
11. Break into freelance writing and/or editing
12. Create a kick-ass writing portfolio
13. Get a better, more fulfilling job
14. Meet Jack’s parents
15. Sell/donate more of my unwanted books, clothes, etc.
16. Finish my British Columbia scrapbook
17. Look into acupuncture - I found out my health insurance covers it now.  Score! 
18. Get my college diploma framed
19. Visit Gettysburg again
20. Visit a museum that I’ve never visited before
21. Organize a reunion for high school classmates in the DC area
22. Sit down to cross-stitch once a week
23. Learn a new craft
24. Cook Thai-style chicken curry from scratch
25. Get back into yoga
26. Learn how to use my new camera to take better photos
27. Grow my hair long again - well, it's growing.  Slowly.
28. Learn new hairstyles for said long hair (other than braided or in a ponytail)
29. Start an indoor herb garden - I have a kit and planted it a couple of months ago.  Unfortunately it's looking pretty sad, I don't think there will be many plants that mature.
30. Go on a photoshoot in the park with Sha-na-na

Have you come up with a similar list?  Post it in the comments!