03.2023 TIS (Taking Inventory Series)

For the first time since December 2021, I am able to release this taking inventory series DURING the current month! If you haven’t heard from me in a while, my name is Danielle Sullivan and I had begun writing a monthly series, where I would dive into what’s going on in my world. I practically stopped writing from 2020-2022 and have been slowly coming forward and creating again.
So, what’s going on in my world this March as we launch into the spring season and brighter days? Click below to keep reading!

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March 2023

Word of the month: AWAKEN.

As the earth spins and the northern hemisphere is in between seasons, I awaken to the goals I set during the New Year’s Celebrations. As someone who has adopted a more seasonal approach to living, we are at the prime balance point for the spring equinox! I love astrology and metaphysical subjects which relates to why I picked awaken as my word for the month of March.

We have these astrological events in March…
Spring Equinox: March 21st
Sun in Aries (the first zodiac sign of the astrological wheel): March 20th
New Moon in Aries: March 21st
*COUGH* Saturn went into Pisces on March 7th {let MY saturn return begin!}

During the winter time, I enjoy reflecting and being mindful about the time I spend online. That was this winter’s main reflection. I reduced (A LOT) of time on social media during this winter and allowed myself the room to breathe. In February, I became more active on Reddit and started to look into community conversations. I wil lbe backing off of Reddit for a little while because I can EASILY get fired up for political & economical action.
So for the month of March, I am starting to emerge from my hermit shell and come back to the surface.

Affirmation of the month: In the stillness of this moment, I am peace.

I had asked my boyfriend to visit my personal favorite website for picking spiritual-based affirmations, unity.org. He selected this one and in hindsight, I am glad he did. It is this stillness that I have tried to embody all winter. And yes, while I am starting to be more active physically, I am excited to learn to be STILL within the world awakening. Stillness and solitude provide closure and honesty. Peace brings this sense of – openness – to the possibility the universe offers. The peace that all will work out. The peace that all will be in divine timing. The peace that love is here extends past me, but into my community.
Stillness and peace intertwine in our daily lives more than we realize.

Habits I’m Working On: Meals at the kitchen table.

Over the past two years, I have developed a habit of eating one or all my meals while watching TV in my living room. Up until last January, I had a bartop but it was always occupied by items in use. It was always hard to keep that tabletop clean! Then last year, I moved from a two-bedroom to a one-bedroom and no longer had a bartop. I’ve reused one barstool in my apartment for the bedroom side of the bathroom but most are in the outdoor storage. I finally got a table with four chairs in October of last year! The idea is that I could use that space to have cozy meals with my boyfriend, game nights with friends, or even a writing desk if I needed to.

For the past two months, however, my kitchen table has been cluttered with “to do and sort later” tasks. I finally took the time to tackle some of those projects on the table and clean the tabletop and the winter cloth to make room for having meals at the kitchen table. I won’t place my picnic blanket over the kitchen table for spring just yet, but it does look nice to see the kitchen table cleared again for meals and time with friends. My intention is to start with breakfasts at the table and then if I can get those done for March, I may be able to progress towards adding in lunch or dinner away from the television.

Eating: I’m excited about the return of McDonald’s shamrock shakes! I suppose that one could fall under the drinking category, but this sweet treat is nice during the month of March! I’m excited about spring foods like Easter egg candies and chocolates. I love carrot cake in the spring and will pick one up from the grocery store and possibly attempt to make one for the first time!

What are some of your favorite dishes for the month of March? Comment below the food recipe title and I will look it up and add it to my Pinterest board!

Drinking: With my most recent diagnosis of fatty liver disease, I haven’t had alcohol over the past six months. It’s not that I was over-drinking before the diagnosis to make me stop- it is just my Doctor’s medical advice and how it *can* affect the liver that I’ve stopped drinking alcohol. My sleep has been better because of that and my sleep meds and my emotions management. Instead, I’ve been enjoying non-alcoholic apple and grape juices to bring in that party atmosphere with date nights and game nights. As the weather turns from cold to chilly, this is a good time to increase the amount of water intake! Especially during Pisces season, a water astrology sign.

Writing: This is where I would like to make the most out of March and open myself to more writing contests, opportunities, and growth. I have a 100-word flash fiction story ready for the second round of edits before uploading it for a contest. I then need to just keep practicing my writing craft and dedicate energy to posting on this blog.

If you have noticed, I have been reblogging a lot of other content creators’ work on my website! I love sharing what I find interesting or worth passing along to my readers. A lot of these are read and shared during my bedtime routine and I sometimes write a little blurb to go with that post. For those who are creators themselves, maybe you’ll get to see one of your posts on my website one day!

Reading: My goal for this year is to complete 24 books. The best reading goal year I’ve had recently was in 2018, when I read 25 books. Since then, my numbers have fallen to under 10. In a future blog post, 03.23 TBR, I will go more into detail about the books and audiobooks I’m reading for the month of March! To be alerted when that post is made, you can follow me via WordPress reader or email alerts! To sign-up, click this button below. 🙂

Learning: In February, I signed up for a weekly 3-hour class. It is these community discussions that I wish were held in schools, universities, and the public about “Getting Ahead in a Just-Getting-By World”. Each week, a few of us investigators look into our habits of ourselves, the community we live in, and the world around us to answer questions like: “Why does poverty exist? How can I work my way out of these habits I get into?”
There’s more that we discuss than I am leading on here, but I have enjoyed the past four classes where I am having to take a hard look at my career habits, health, financial, and choices I have made that have not helped me excel in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to connect with others and for the co-facilitators that help us grow.
There’s a workbook that goes with this program and can be useful in schools, social work, and behavorial health. I will link the program below for those who are interested:

https://www.ahaprocess.com/getting-ahead-in-a-just-gettin-by-world-at-a-glance/

Note: The workbook does not include how much the pandemic has shifted racial, economic, and politcal structues and influences. Keep that in mind when reviewing this material.

Watching: In February, I was wrapped up in cooking shows. Cooking is my weakness and hardly worked on my life skills. Then, I found myself really enjoying Hell’s Kitchen. So much so that I am one episode away from starting season 6!
That’s mainly all I have watched the past month. Nothing else at the moment has sparked my interested. Yay for ad-free streaming!

Events this month: Let’s see… I have 6 year old’s birthday party; spring break; teacher training and kids camp; three friends’ birthdays; daylight savings begins; Easter photography session prep work; spring equinox celebrations; and, a spa date with friends! If you want to read about the events I had going on in January and February, those past-tense written posts will be up (or are already uploaded) soon!
On the 14th, my boyfriend and I will be going to the Oklahoma City Zoo with my friend and her family to celebrate my friend’s 28th birthday! I’ll be bringing my camera along and hope to snap some glorious shots of the animals and people in my circle!

Listening: While white noise can help with sleep, there are also other colors of noise to help you sleep! I have been enjoying the calmer sounds of brown noise and so has my boyfriend. Pink noise, one that I have only tried once, helped me fall asleep faster and stay asleep.
Do you have any favorite things to listen to for sleep? Or, does it have to be a silent environment for sleep? Let me know in the comments!

Enjoying: Embroidery & Crafts! In January, I began a small winter forest embroidery kit from Walmart. I finally finished this craft project last weekend! I haven’t started my second kit yet so I can start another project: Diamond Color by numbers. I have no other way to describe it except that you take these tiny diamonds and stick them to the box & symbol with that color. Once that’s done, it will be nice artwork for the apartment! Ironically, I bought this at the beginning of the pandemic and it was on sale I really didn’t check the Amazon reviews for how tedious it was. I am, however, determined to finish the project and have another artwork piece for the apartment.

Pictured on the left: The completed Winter Forest embroidery kit. I still have LOTS of leftover thread from this kit. I will be saving them for future projects. I am hoping to be able to get a storage kit for these threads to keep them all together, which is a future project/apartment upgrade for me.

Feeling: Anxious.
This has been an increase over the year in anxiety about my own personal life and the world around me. From economic struggles to mental health crises, I have had to take several steps back and reground myself in day-to-day life rather than overthinking FEAR running the world in my mind.
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

I’m excited about: Starting a new job (just in time for the astrological new year)! I love it when the universe times events and solutions out when I never saw that answer calling me. I will be back working with children in an afterschool capacity until the summer when it’s full-on hands on deck!
In Oklahoma, you must have a Bachelor’s degree to be a teacher—a BA degree to get alternatively certified. And even though I’ve been in the education setting for five years, I can’t get certified. Why? Because I struggle with university education systems that don’t work for my neurodivergent brain and operations. I need 80-ish more credits to graduate from the University of Oklahoma and I have to pay the university back six grand from loans and such. My GPA is terrible and all these little things are stacked up against me to prevent me from doing one of the things I love- teaching.
So for now, I will get to continue to teach at a living wage and improve my career, even without the barriers that prevent my certifications.