Gran Rising! This morning, I am late to writing a belated lifestyle post about what’s going on in my world during this fabulous month of May! If you haven’t heard from me in a while, my name is Danielle Sullivan and I am excited to be waking up from taking a couple of years off from making content consistently, especially for my website. There was lots of events that occured over the past two years, derailing any progress towards my passion in the creative arts.
Alas, without another word on this introduction, let’s dive into the world around me this mid-spring!
05.2023 Taking Inventory Series
Word of the month: energy. As the weather warms up here in North America, I can feel the sense of urgency in life aswe are gaining mometum towards the summertime. May’s typically a month fueled by a lack of energy, as I have already felt “spent” from the waking up energy from winter into the first weeks of spring. This month, I am setting the intention of energy, flow, and movement towards my goals. For example, right now, I am writing this blog post and spending creative energy on sharing my thoughts with the world.
Energy also can refer to reclaiming lost or slowed energy. I think of the fact that Mercury Retrograde ends on May 14th and from then till the next Mercury Retrograde, I can spend my energy reclaiming what I want in my daily life and routine.
Affirmation of the month: By the power of divine life, I thrive. My monthly affirmations are 95% of the time selected from this website. It’s a more spiritual approach with affirmations. This program gives options in various areas such as prosperity, wisdom, healing, guidance, and more! To visit the website and see the affirmations listed out for the next month, click on this link!
Habits I’m Working On: Showing up for myself FIRST. I’m going to be honest, I struggle with internal goals and accountability. I always have and there’s lots of pushback to go on this uphill climb. One way around that is by allowing myself to show up and have external accountability that BOOSTS my internal accountability. For example, I begun recording daily writing sessions to share on Instagram & TikTok on the 7th of this month. The idea came from seeing a creater I follow, @jaqofmosttrades , who is a cottagecore writer sharing her daily writing sessions online. The link to her account is attached to her username above! She’s currently on day 900-something of her novel writing and continues to create daily!
Anyways, the idea of showing myself writing (ANYTHING) via social media could help me be accountable internally towards writing. This is because I value those who show up and do the damn thing and me posting videos for myself FIRST would show me being accountable to myself internally and then I can use them as a time capsule to review the writing I have gotten done.
Even when the camera is off, like now, I am able to continue writing for myself first. Again, all because I found a way to use social media to help me be accountable first!
Eating: As the summer approaches, my food choices becomes lighter. I’ve swapped out most fried foods for a more healthier balance of clean veggies and produce. Currently though, the transition has been met with roadblocks in wanting more highly processed snacks and candies. If anyone’s ever swapped out one food item for another, to improve their health, please let me know in the comments below!
Drinking: Speaking of swapping out food items, I’ve changed the milk I use for drinking and eating. The milks I had been drinking were whole and 2% milk, though it would always cause phsyical pains after adding them to iced chai tea latte or cereal. For the past two weeks, I’ve been enjoying almond milk. And guess what? No issues or intolerances!! It might cost me an extra dollor or two, but I’d rather have a healthier physical body than one hurting because I bought 2% or whole milk.
It’s been a while since I’ve had non fat or soy milk so I might try those at some point to see if those could work for me as well.
Writing: There’s the blog posts here I’ll be writing this month and I would love your support if you followed me here on WordPress or by emailed newsletters to stay updated on what I post! Sometimes, I even reblog content from various creators I follow to share educational news, reviews, or amusing pet content.
I will also be submitting entries into at least three writing contests this month, two of which are due May 15th. Like this post if you would like to read what I submitted if it is not selected as a winner! The results for some of these contests can take some time and I’d enjoy sharing them to hear feedback and to practice sharing my work with readers around the world!
Reading: So far this year, I have completed ten books! I’ll be making a follow up blog post scheduled to be released Friday, May 12th about the books I’ve read in the first three months of 2023! Stay tuned for that post but in the meantime, here’s a sneakpeak of my reading log in my Passion Planner:
Learning: Personal development mixed with spirituality. For instance, lets say I have a morning routine where I brush my teeth, comb my hair, and wash my face. To add a bit of spritiual spice to the routine, I’m voicing out affirmations and manifesting health, wealth, & peace into my world so that I may thrive. Again, this ties into this month’s affirmation. Me taking the time to boost my self-confidence and self-esteem has led to me producing content again, chossing passion projects over anxiety, and rebuilding connections I’ve lost over the past year, due to being socially distant.
Events this month: There’s a environmentalist group meeting soon and we will clean up a local park from single use plastic and trash. My boyfriend will have to work so it’ll be me and new friends commiting a couple hours of our weekend helping the community and the local habitat. There’s at least four birthdays this month in my circle of friends and family! That reminds me- I need to mail out birthday cards and deliver one in-person this month.
Other than that, there’s not really any Mother’s Day or Memorial Day plans for me this year. I tend to keep those holidays peaceful, since I’m not one to participate in those two holidays. Except for sabbath days in the wheel of the year… I tend to go all out for Winter Solstice & Samhain, aka Halloween/Mid-Autumn.
Watching: My boyfriend and I are continuing to trek our way through Hell’s Kitchen as we are halfway through season eleven! I’m not the best cook but this show has influenced me to become better at my cooking times and temperatures. I’ve also been watching Perry Mason on HBO Max, a revamped modern take on the fictional character from a 1930s crime show. I love being able to watch the show while I work on my diamond art piece. More about that art piece at the end!
Listening: Music genres and moods haven’t changed much since my last TIS post. The only thing that has changed is that I’ve embraced the cottage core aesthetic mixed with lofi. LOVE reading and writing to lofi music! Can any of my fellow writers create with music on? I know some can and some prefer not to and I’d be curious to read your thoughts in the comments of this post!
Enjoying: The freshness of spring. April was a mix of cold weather, rain, and tornadoes. May’s been hotter and the thunderstorms continue to passby us here in Oklahoma. There’s a cahcne of severe weather today till Saturday and I pray we get rain without as many hail storms or tornadoes. The nicer weather has allowed my cats and I to enjoy sitting out on our patio together. Yes, you read that correctly: Jupiter and Luna LOVE to be out on the patio! You can see so in the day two writing session video I linked above from TikTok. I enjoy spending my mornings out on the patio, observing the local birds and sipping fresh coffee. Especially after a night with little or restless sleep, I am barely functional before 11 am. Or, to spend my evenings hearing the crickets and nightlife awaken into partying sounds and music. Ah, the lifestyle of young college students reminds me of my younger days from ten years ago.
Feeling: A weeee bit stressed. With bills mounting up and my doubts about finances covering all my bills it doesn’t take much for me to shut down and cause more chaos in my world. Slowly, my boyfriend and I have begun to work our way through the mounting financial pressure and to focus on the positive aspects of finances. Bills are being paid; we have some money in savings; our wealth continues to grow; the universe has our backs and we will grow through these tough times, etc. Finding unique ways to save money and to go on no spending challenges has saved us money that goes towards bills now instead.
What I’m excited about: My diamond art piece! I’ve made steady progress towards completing this project I started back in March. It’s over 1,000 diamond beads at least that you sticky to the mat and hope they don’t move. This craft is excellent to watch TV or listen to an auidobook with, since it keeps the hands busy and the mind from wandering towards using the phone while relaxing. Here’s a picture, as promised, of the progress I’ve made on this craft project I bought at the beginning of the pandemic!
May your month of May be bright and cheerful as we close out another school year & onwards to summer relaxation, vacations, & sunshine!
Thank you for reading today’s post and I wish you all health and wealth going into and beyond Mother’s Day!
Cheers,
Danielle Sullivan
Photography Friday: Snow Days
I am reminded that the winter season is here to show me that soft starts and stillness can go a long way.
Photography Friday: Brunch @ Press & Plow
A little brunch lifted us up as we prepared to begin the fall season!
Where Have I Been?
many aspects of my inner and outer world has shifted, that I truly don’t think it will be possible to return to a version of myself that no longer exists.
Danielle Lee Sullivan 