Blessings Darlings!
Things have changed a lot at work recently. I had been in charge of a lunch contract - but the govt group this was for has been re-located onto a military base in another state. Since I have always been rather a 'utility outfielder' at work, doing a lot of different things when I wasn't doing the lunches, I'm now varying between dishtank and 'pantry' (that's desserts/salads/prep).
With this group, which had also been staying in the hotel, gone, we're not seeing much restaurant action. Almost everyone's hours have been cut. A few folks had their positions eliminated. HR and Chef are trying to keep my hours just high enough that I can keep my insurance, but keep me below full time and take away paid days off and such. The thing is - they have to spread my hours across more days. I'm working less hours, and more days a week. And what days I'm working has been varying, because they mostly need me when folks hold Events in our banquet rooms and conference center.
Add to that the recent End of Daylight Savings Time and Oncoming Winter difference in hours when the sun is up when I'm awake (I'm still working evenings/nights) ... it's all complicated. I'm tryig to prep the garden for spring, but that has to be done in daylight (and is best done if there isn't much wind). I'm hanging our clothes to dry, but the sun goes down so very much earlier now, that if I don't jump up and start laundry VERY soon after I get up (BEFORE COFFEE!) it doesn't finished drying by dark. And all those other things that have to fit in - meditation, exercise, offerings, eating right/planning menus, grocery shopping, etc ...
Yeah. Complicated. And I've NEVER been one of those 'type A' 'always have to be working on something' people. Instead, I'm the type that needs a fairly large amount of time between tasks. All of which ties into last week's post about having to find tools to help me get organized. I don't expect that any tool is going to help me segue more quickly from task to task, tho.
I'm quite cross about it all. But it is what it is.
Frondly, Fern
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
My 2020 Organizer/Calendar
Blessings Darlings!
It's that season again, time to buy next year's calendars and organizers and all that. I've not yet found one that will do the work of organizing my life for me, and as I've noted before - I'm where organization goes to die. Nevertheless, I keep trying to become more organized.
Therefore, today was the day I went out looking for a calendar to use to try to organize myself for this coming year. And I found the perfect one for me. It might not do the work, it might not be perfect, but it's ... me.
It helps handle the daily swearing for me.
It's the Carpe Fucking Diem 2020 planner. You can look at your whole month, you can organize your weeks, it has room for monthly goals, each month has a different color, and it shares my bad attitude.
Maybe this will the The One. Maybe not. It's a fucking journey of discovery.
Frondly, Fern
It's that season again, time to buy next year's calendars and organizers and all that. I've not yet found one that will do the work of organizing my life for me, and as I've noted before - I'm where organization goes to die. Nevertheless, I keep trying to become more organized.
Therefore, today was the day I went out looking for a calendar to use to try to organize myself for this coming year. And I found the perfect one for me. It might not do the work, it might not be perfect, but it's ... me.
It helps handle the daily swearing for me.
It's the Carpe Fucking Diem 2020 planner. You can look at your whole month, you can organize your weeks, it has room for monthly goals, each month has a different color, and it shares my bad attitude.
Maybe this will the The One. Maybe not. It's a fucking journey of discovery.
Frondly, Fern
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Re-taking The Hill. Again.
Blessings Darlings!
Dreams last night were frustrating but immensely informative. In them I took on every single task other folks gave me. Every . Single . One . Of . Them . I also had my repetitive dream of 'driving a vehicle so big that I can't see the street to steer and drive over other vehicles'.
Time to re-assert sovereignity over my life and time. I've been slipping on that again.
Yeah, I slip on this with GREAT regularity. Okay - it's not 'great' for me. It sucks for me, and is a habit ingrained from childhood. I'm not going to bore myself by citing some of the examples.
So today I'm back to setting time limits on housework, on cruising the internet for other folks, etc. Freed time is for MY goals - food gardening (yes, even in winter), writing, study, exercise, planning healthier meals for myself, etc.
So today I'm back to setting time limits on housework, on cruising the internet for other folks, etc. Freed time is for MY goals - food gardening (yes, even in winter), writing, study, exercise, planning healthier meals for myself, etc.
Gotta run - it's going to start raining again soon, and I need to get stuff done in the garden before it does.
Frondly, Fern
Frondly, Fern
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Mercury Retrograde is Coming, and I Feel Fine.
Blessings Darlings!
People in the Pagan/Witch groups I'm in have started their regular freaking out over the upcoming Mercury Retrograde. They have started praying that it's smooth. Have I mentioned that 'hopes and prayers' put my teeth on edge?
So here's a reminder that the Merc Retro is a needed and useful thing, where you unwind stuff that no longer serves you. And that there are things you can do to prepare for it, so it goes more smoothly. Do what you can to make sure (and double check that) all your bills are paid, especially insurance. If you look at things and note that you won't be able to make a payment - contact that creditor in advance and see what you can work out. Back up your computer in advance. Maybe get your car checked out/change your oil, etc in advance if you can. Make sure you have a patch kit for the tires on your bicycle.
Get your self-care in place. Taking care of yourself will make things smoother, and help make sure you have more energy and are more centered to face anything that comes up.
Finally - start facing things you don't want to face NOW. Make it a habit. This will help build your ability/ease of handling crap as it comes up.
Frondly, Fern
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Weight. Fiber. Healthy Stuff.
Blessings Darlings!
Book reviews are coming - but life's been busy lately. Very busy. My husband has a new contract that's a bit of a death march on timing (so much to do, so little time to get it done) - so I'm doing all the housework except the bathrooms (our spawn does those.) I'm also doing a lot of support work on the project, since, after all, I am the co-owner of the business even if I don't do the programming. And then there's the keeping him fed/coffee'd, etc...
Meanwhile, I've got a butt-ton of my own goals that I'm working on. Not just the reading, but increases in magical practice and ... there are a lot of health goals in play. So the rest of this post is going to be whining about problems manifesting the sometimes contradictory actions to reach an assortment of health goals. Just ONE part of ONE thing I'm doing - getting at least 10,000 steps a day - takes me a lot of time.
Still with me?
Okay.
I'm old, chubby, and out of shape. Actions are underway to work on those things. Part of the problem is insulin resistance due to metabolic syndrome. For that - increase exercise, reduce weight, reduce carbs in my diet (especially highly refined ones.) Being a woman over 60, I'm also supposed to get 21 grams of fiber a day. That's the fiber in about 4 cups of cooked broccoli - one of the BETTER vegetable sources of fiber. A cup and a half of salad mix has only 1 gram of fiber. The double serving of spaghetti squash I had for breakfast had only 2.2 grams of fiber!
The only good food sources for fiber are ... starches. Sweet potatoes. Cooked dry beans. Cooked barley. Exactly the types of food I'm trying to reduce in my diet. The foods I was heavily relying on (and getting heavy from!) during the last decade of Broke Ass Eating.
I feel personally betrayed by this, even as it makes clear what I'm going to have to top my salad with. And I might end up buying some fiber supplement to add to water/coffee/whatever. Because I'd really like to have fruit as my carbs - I really like fruit. I don't mind beans, but fruit is, well, sweet.
Yeah. First world problems - losing weight and making sure I poop regularly as I age.
Frondly, Fern
Book reviews are coming - but life's been busy lately. Very busy. My husband has a new contract that's a bit of a death march on timing (so much to do, so little time to get it done) - so I'm doing all the housework except the bathrooms (our spawn does those.) I'm also doing a lot of support work on the project, since, after all, I am the co-owner of the business even if I don't do the programming. And then there's the keeping him fed/coffee'd, etc...
Meanwhile, I've got a butt-ton of my own goals that I'm working on. Not just the reading, but increases in magical practice and ... there are a lot of health goals in play. So the rest of this post is going to be whining about problems manifesting the sometimes contradictory actions to reach an assortment of health goals. Just ONE part of ONE thing I'm doing - getting at least 10,000 steps a day - takes me a lot of time.
Still with me?
Okay.
I'm old, chubby, and out of shape. Actions are underway to work on those things. Part of the problem is insulin resistance due to metabolic syndrome. For that - increase exercise, reduce weight, reduce carbs in my diet (especially highly refined ones.) Being a woman over 60, I'm also supposed to get 21 grams of fiber a day. That's the fiber in about 4 cups of cooked broccoli - one of the BETTER vegetable sources of fiber. A cup and a half of salad mix has only 1 gram of fiber. The double serving of spaghetti squash I had for breakfast had only 2.2 grams of fiber!
The only good food sources for fiber are ... starches. Sweet potatoes. Cooked dry beans. Cooked barley. Exactly the types of food I'm trying to reduce in my diet. The foods I was heavily relying on (and getting heavy from!) during the last decade of Broke Ass Eating.
I feel personally betrayed by this, even as it makes clear what I'm going to have to top my salad with. And I might end up buying some fiber supplement to add to water/coffee/whatever. Because I'd really like to have fruit as my carbs - I really like fruit. I don't mind beans, but fruit is, well, sweet.
Yeah. First world problems - losing weight and making sure I poop regularly as I age.
Frondly, Fern
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
More Book Review Criteria!
Blessings Darlings!
Having consulted with others, and thought about it myself - there are more things I'd like to see in Wicca/Pagan 101 books.
Let's start with ... footnotes for history claims, and suggested reading lists! And the authors need to have their facts right. "Truthiness" is not an option tho' LABELED UPG (unverified Personal Gnosis) is fine.
That you should pay attention of all sorts of spirits, not just the Gods.
THAT THE PAGAN COMMUNITY HAS PREDATORS.
Witch books better include the concept of raising, shaping, and sending energy - not just 'put up mirrors to block negative energy.'
Rede Thumping along with the Rede.
That Karma isn't what most Westerners think it is, and that Dharma matters.
How well the book is edited, spell checked, etc. No book is perfect, and I know that it's HARD to get Kindle editing to do what you want, but a good-faith effort should have been made.
I fear that expecting them to NOT go on about Christianity is too much to ask ... but I'm asking it anyway.
More criteria might be listed later, as things bug the shit out of me.
Frondly, Fern
Having consulted with others, and thought about it myself - there are more things I'd like to see in Wicca/Pagan 101 books.
Let's start with ... footnotes for history claims, and suggested reading lists! And the authors need to have their facts right. "Truthiness" is not an option tho' LABELED UPG (unverified Personal Gnosis) is fine.
That you should pay attention of all sorts of spirits, not just the Gods.
THAT THE PAGAN COMMUNITY HAS PREDATORS.
Witch books better include the concept of raising, shaping, and sending energy - not just 'put up mirrors to block negative energy.'
Rede Thumping along with the Rede.
That Karma isn't what most Westerners think it is, and that Dharma matters.
How well the book is edited, spell checked, etc. No book is perfect, and I know that it's HARD to get Kindle editing to do what you want, but a good-faith effort should have been made.
I fear that expecting them to NOT go on about Christianity is too much to ask ... but I'm asking it anyway.
More criteria might be listed later, as things bug the shit out of me.
Frondly, Fern
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Wiccan Book Reviews Coming!
Blessings Darlings!
I'm going to be doing a bunch of reviews of 'free for kindle' Wicca 101 books (When I told a friend this, she asked me why I was going to torture myself.)
So now, before I start doing the book reviews, I'm going to be up front about what I want to see in any Wicca 101 books. So here's the list:
HISTORY OF WICCA
WHAT YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE TO BE WICCAN
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO BE WICCAN
SABBATS
ESBATS
LETS TALK INITIATION
THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR
QUARTER CAST CIRCLES
WHY/WHEN TO DO CIRCLES
ELEMENTS
ELEMENTALS
DIRECTIONS
WATCHTOWERS
IF YOUR CIRCLE TAKES YOU TO A TIME THAT IS NOT A TIME, A PLACE THAT IS
NOT A PLACE ... HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH THE CIRCLE OF THE YEAR AND YOUR EVER SO CAREFULLY DECORATED SEASONAL ALTAR?
DRAWING DOWN THE MOON AND POLARITY-BASED MAGIC (THE ONLY TYPE OF MAGIC THAT I FEEL CAN BE CALLED 'WICCAN')
YEAH, THROW IN SOMETHING ABOUT GROUNDING AND CENTERING
THROW IN A TINY BIT ON STUFF YOU MIGHT WANT ON YOUR ALTAR.
Now you know what I'll be looking for when I do book reviews. Gods help us all.
Frondly, Fern
I'm going to be doing a bunch of reviews of 'free for kindle' Wicca 101 books (When I told a friend this, she asked me why I was going to torture myself.)
So now, before I start doing the book reviews, I'm going to be up front about what I want to see in any Wicca 101 books. So here's the list:
HISTORY OF WICCA
WHAT YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE TO BE WICCAN
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO BE WICCAN
SABBATS
ESBATS
LETS TALK INITIATION
THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR
QUARTER CAST CIRCLES
WHY/WHEN TO DO CIRCLES
ELEMENTS
ELEMENTALS
DIRECTIONS
WATCHTOWERS
IF YOUR CIRCLE TAKES YOU TO A TIME THAT IS NOT A TIME, A PLACE THAT IS
NOT A PLACE ... HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH THE CIRCLE OF THE YEAR AND YOUR EVER SO CAREFULLY DECORATED SEASONAL ALTAR?
DRAWING DOWN THE MOON AND POLARITY-BASED MAGIC (THE ONLY TYPE OF MAGIC THAT I FEEL CAN BE CALLED 'WICCAN')
YEAH, THROW IN SOMETHING ABOUT GROUNDING AND CENTERING
THROW IN A TINY BIT ON STUFF YOU MIGHT WANT ON YOUR ALTAR.
Now you know what I'll be looking for when I do book reviews. Gods help us all.
Frondly, Fern
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