Winter Pagan Fitness Challenge - Week 1

I wrote these goals out during the last fitness challenge and they are still true for this challenge:

My Elemental goals

Earth: I plan on focusing on eating a balanced, natural food diet. I want to eliminate some of the processed foods that I eat. This will be a gradual and ongoing process

Air: I will be adding Yoga into my exercise routine on a regular basis. Yoga is great for the mind as well as the body and I believe this will be a great benefit for me, helping me to lessen the effects of everyday stresses as well as strengthen my muscles.

Fire: I plan on earning 150 broom points - minimum! I try to get to the gym between 3 and 4 mornings each week and work out for about an hour each time. In addition to this I will be working on my Etsy Shop as well as my other artistic endeavors, Art is my passion and that is something I will be focusing more on in the coming months.

Water: I will be upping the amount of water I drink and eliminate that darn Diet Coke. I know it is full of chemicals, I know it is not the best drink for my body so I will be saying goodbye to my longtime favorite beverage so that I can improve my health - I believe it will be totally worth it!

Spirit: Achieving the above will nurture my mind, body and soul. Meditating on my goals, working towards them and achieving them is what I consider my holistic approach to this challenge, encompassing all of the elements in my goal to be healthy and fit.

In addition to the above elemental goals I have another, measurable goal, I would like to lose about 10 pounds by the end of the challenge. I believe in losing weight in a slow, steady and healthy way and I think this is very achievable. To this goal I will continue on as a Weight Watchers member and will be focusing on consistent journaling since I know that my efforts are successful if I am consistent with my Weight Watchers food journal.

Tomorrow is my first day back to the gym in a week and I can't wait!

Happy New Year!

As the clock strikes midnight and we begin the year 2013 my wish for you all is for a wonderful prosperous year, full of joy and magic. I hope your lives are filled with wonder, full of friends and family and happy adventures.

Sincerely,

Autumnwind

Winter Pagan Fitness Challenge

I am so happy that Serenity Raven has decided to host a Winter Pagan Fitness Challenge. I am a week late in signing up but that is OK. This is one fitness challenge that I believe focuses on the right things! I'll post more about this later as I catch up :)

2013 Resolutions, Goals and Priorities

I try not to make too many resolutions for the start of the year; I prefer to think of them as goals instead. As a witch my New Year actually begins at Samhain but I like the start of the calendar year as another time to re-focus on things I want to do with my life. It is fun to join with so many people across the country and plan. There is so much positive energy at this time of year as people turn their thoughts to making positive changes in their lives. Imagine if just 10% of those hoped for changes became reality!  I believe that the world would be a better place for all if people started to make progress on their New Year resolutions!

This year my list is small,

1)      I plan on incorporating a Yoga class into my current fitness routine. I currently go to the gym at least 3 times per week and will be finding a beginner Yoga class that I can attend. I’ll also continue on with Weight Watchers and I hope to lose those last 25 pounds but I’ll be happy with another 10!

2)      I will set aside 1 week a month to work on magical items for my Etsy shop as well as any other projects that I want to do. This will be scheduled, guilt free, me time!

3)      I will continue to set aside time to hang out with my family & friends, make time for fun activities and find ways to let my friends and family know how much they mean to me.

4)      I will learn more about the spiritual side of the craft and strengthen my knowledge base in this area. I love to learn.

Here is one of my favorite quotes for the New Year...

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.

~Ellen Goodman

That is what I will be working on this year.   How about you?

A Frosty Morning

This morning there was a layer of snow covering the ground when I work up. I love the silence that accompanies the snow. I had to step out and take a couple of pictures and just be a part of that silence. The above picture is of the Pin Oak tree that is in my front yard. It is a lovely tree all year but it is hauntingly beautiful after it sheds its leaves.

After spending a quite moment alone in the silence of the snow I went back inside and then out the back door with my sweet little pups following me. I took some pictures of the trees in our yard and watched as Sophie and her sister Alice ran joyously through the fresh power. This is Sophie, she has one goal in life and that is to play ball! The dirty orange thing at the bottom of the picture is her octopus toy, one that she has had since she was a puppy (she is 5 now). After taking a couple of pictures I played with Sophie and then came in to the sounds of my family slowly waking up on this lovely winter morning.

Truly a magnificent way to start the day

2012 Year in Review

Wowsa what a year! In 2012 I visited Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, St. Petersburg and Panama City,  Florida, I’ve been on business trips, birthday trips and let’s get out of town trips.  I spent time with my family, my friends and myself and through it all I’ve managed to slowly get my art into my top 3 priorities and will have my Etsy shop re-stocked (and better stocked) by the first of February, AND, thankfully, the apocalypse didn't happen - again.

This year I took time every month to spend with my amazing friends who collectively form an artists’ group that meets once a month. We work on projects, eat delicious foods and chat, I am usually happy to just hang out and talk which is something that I need. I love being able to just sit with my friends and spend time, no commitments, no stress, just time with the girls. This year we also featured our collective work at a juried art fair. It was nice, I managed to sell of piece of my work and since we plan on doing the same show again, I have a full year to plan and create for the festival next year.

On the health front I am down 10 pounds from January 1, 2012 – yippee! I am working out consistently 3 days a week and I feel great! This year I decided that it was time to re-adjust how I looked at weight loss and my health. Rather than my normal All or Nothing approach (I am an Aries through and through) I decided that I had to make lifestyle changes that would fit into my life and then stick to them, even when I completely fail. So when I gained lots of weight during the business trip to Florida, I came home, squeezed back into my clothes and got back into the good habits that I have been working on all year. I am sure, had I not been enjoying all of the dinners and lunches with friends, the magnificent wine with my significant other and the occasional chocolate indulgence, I could have lost the other 25 pounds that I need to lose to reach a healthy weight but what I have found is that I really like the life I have and I would rather take it slow and enjoy the times with those who mean the most to me than focus on losing weight quickly. What has helped is this, a little quote I read somewhere: “The Best Part of the Meal is the Conversation”, how cool is that. I’ve tried to remember that when I am out with friends and the focus seems to be on the food. Sometimes it works and sometimes, well, let’s just say that I am happy with the slow and steady progress I am making!

Magically I have never been busier. I am working on some spell bottles and amulets for the shop as well as Altar cloths and ritual baskets. Because these have to be done during certain moon phases and on specific days in order to be the best they can be I do not always have the ones that I want to in stock. This year I am setting aside 1 week a month to create exactly what I need. It is amazing how much better I feel when I am focusing on my magical and spiritual side.  For the first time in a very, very long time I feel comfortable in my own skin. Some of that comes with being at the Crone phase of my life, some of it comes from the lessons I have learned the past few years, regardless, I am loving life right now!

I have lots of great things planned next year. I’ll be sharing more projects complete with “How-To” directions, recipes, spells, and more.

Next up… 2013 Resolutions, Goals & Priorities

Autumnwind

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

To those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope  you have a lovely day!

Autumnwind