In todays blog, I will be talking about starting a podcast. I have one that I host by myself and one I cohost with my friend. At the time I am writing this, my solo podcast is about a month old, and the one I am cohosting has not been released yet. I will talk about both of the podcasts.

To begin, once my friend and I told each other that we wanted to start podcasting, she told me about a platform she had heard about. We both made our own accounts and began recording and figuring out our own systems and what works best for us on the recording and editing side of things. Once we began uploading episodes, and they were distributed to other listening platforms such as Apple, Google, Spotify and others, we really got into promoting. My set up to record and edit is on my computer. I am using one of my husband’s small microphones plugged into my computer.

I am figuring out the ‘how to’ stuff on my own. I have not taken any classes to learn editing, uploading or promoting of podcasts. I also do not have the most expensive equipment to podcast.

My solo podcast, My Misadventures, (yes that is the name of the podcast) is about different things. I talk about about different trips and vacations I’ve taken that may have gone differently then planned or thought how it would have gone. I also talk a little about my religion, how to try and stay out of a funk during the pandemic the world is going through right now. I even talked about how to avoid scammers on social media, lets face it they are everywhere and I have had interactions with them on multiple occasions.

The podcast I cohost with my friend, Spider Monkey Chats, is random talks between two friends. It really is like listening to two friends catching up on the phone or over a cup of coffee. We tell our audience about our own retail stories, current jobs, plans of travel, hobbies, etc.

I have had my yearling horse (he’s not quite 2 yet) since December. He turns 2 in June. Decided on the name Sedona-like the city in Arizona.

When he arrived he was untamed. He was not handled at all until he was gelded- he’s not a stallion now. He was gelded then was brought to the farm I’m at. As soon as he arrived I began spending time with him, petting him. I cleaned his pen and started feeding him treats.

When I was able to catch him without trouble I would give a treat to teach him he gets treats for good behavior- much like when you teach dogs tricks and things you reenforce the behavior. I began taking him on short walks out of his pen on a lead rope to get him accustomed to being out of his pen and to explore and be lead to different places.

I mainly work with Sedona on his ground manners. I work on him standing and being patient, I work with him to get him used to being tied while I groom him. I have put a saddle pad on his back to get him accustomed to having something on him. We go on walks around the farm.

This is my focus until he is ready to be ridden. Hopefully by that time he will still be a calm horse and become a quiet trail horse.

****Note from author: I accidentally deleted this post. Reposting because it is worth the read.

I was raised Episcopalian most of my life. Some of my earliest memories are in the church my dad and I would attend every Sunday. I remember when he stopped taking us to church when I was 7. It was not long after my brother passed away. By the time I was 13 I had begun my journey on the path of witchcraft. It wasn’t until I was 19 that I knew what I believed was called.

My dad was raised Catholic but converted to be with my mom. Most of my dads siblings and my cousins are Catholic so holidays with them are interesting with me being a Witch. it’s only been the last ten years or so that my family has learned of my path. Most don’t care, some won’t acknowledge it and others have told me I need to let God back into my life.

I remember when my grandfather found out about my path. He told me the he didn’t care what I believed as long as I believed in something. Best advice he gave all of his grandkids. I’ve had an aunt and uncle find out about my beliefs while in a church for a church dinner. I thought the ground was going to open up and swallow me. Thankfully the conversation moved on quickly after that.

With all of this being said, holidays can be very interesting with my family. With them celebrating Easter and Christmas and me celebrating Yule and Ostara- they don’t always line up. I use these holidays more to visit family rather then celebrate. Most of them go to mass for the holiday services then we all meet up for dinner at a restaurant. It does get rough sometimes when they try to tell me that I need to go to church and stuff. Or they tell me that I’m not a Witch because it’s not real or I’m looking for attention.

Waking up at 5 in the morning to be at a Disney park before seven am sounds crazy. Hollywood Studios currently opens at 7 am for the Starwars: Galaxy’s Edge section of the park. The rest of the park opens later in the morning. At 7, there is an announcement to get your virtual ticket for the Rise of the Resistance ride. Pro tip- make sure any tickets you have are registered through the Disney app so you can do this. If they aren’t you will have to see guest relations near the ride to get set up and try to get a boarding pass for the ride.

Walking through the tunnel to enter Galaxy’s Edge was mind blowing. I enjoyed it so much more without having my camera out recording videos of it. My husband made a lightsaber- something he’s been excited to do since they announced it. While you can build a lightsaber without an reservation (you can get in if someone cancels or doesn’t show for their reservation) it is better to get a reservation and have a guaranteed spot. We were lucky enough to get in early in the morning due to a cancellation.

We rode the Millennium Falcon ride. It was different for me. When you get in you are grouped in flight groups of 6. You have two pilots, 2 gunners, and 2 engineers. It’s interactive in the sense of you either fly the ship or you hit flashing buttons to either shoot the guns or try to ‘catch’ the cargo.

The Rise of the Resistance ride was worth the wait. It has interactive characters who help the ride along- such as the resistance and the first order.

Going to this section of Hollywood Studios was worth the early morning wake up and going to bed late. We spent 14 hours at the park, most of that time in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area. Worth the money and time spent. Staying for the fire works is also worth it.

Every year I hear others tell me their resolutions for the new year. I was never into having a new year’s resolution because I knew that I wouldn’t keep up with it or there wasn’t really anything I wanted to change. This year my husband brought up a good way to deal with it. ‘It’ being the New Year’s resolution thing. He said that he wants to have habits for the new year. Its not enough to just want to loose weight during the year, but making the effort to make a habit to be healthier. So this will be about three habits I would like to have through this year and onto the rest of my life.

The first habit I want to start is posting content regularly. This includes my blogs here and my vlogs on YouTube. Keeping to a schedule will mean routine will happen. By posting the same day and time each week means consistent content as well.

The next habit is to be more active. Not just to be healthy and exercise, but to just move around. Walking is a good way to be active. So is yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation are both good ways to help your body. With yoga you stretch and help your body relieve stress and tension in your muscles. With meditation you can work on your breathing exercises and release stress and tension as well. This also helps you quiet your mind and focus on grounding yourself.

The last habit I want to have is a two part one. I want to enjoy more and travel more. I would love to travel the world, but traveling locally and seeing the sights of the state I live in or even a weekend trip to someplace I haven’t been before. I’ve been to Orlando so much but I have t really seen Orlando. I live in Maryland, but there is still so much I haven’t seen here. Getting out and visiting places is rewarding and worth it. The memories are worth making as well.

Writing blogs, I hope that I can share more of my adventures and life that I do not share via YouTube or my social media platforms. I have stories behind all of the pictures I’ve taken and the videos I’ve posted.

There is a lot I leave out of my vacation videos. That is a choice I made so I can enjoy the time with my husband and any family with us. I want to enjoy the sights and locations we are at. I enjoyed the Grand Canyon a lot more without having my camera out to record every little detail.

With all of the different divination tools out there, I prefer to use tarot. I use it to meditate, I give tarot readings to those who ask. The main deck I use is the Shapeshifter Deck by D.J. Conway and Lisa Hunt. I have used this deck since 2007.

Personally, I use my deck to meditate, give readings to others and in spell work. They help me with focus if I need to focus on a specific question or intent. It is all about intent when it comes to magic.

When choosing a deck there is no right or wrong way to choose one. Some will say its better to pick one out in person versus buying from the internet. Others will say go with what calls to you no matter how you buy a deck. As long as it is one that calls and resonates with you it doesn’t matter. Others will say starting with a specific deck as a beginner is best. Personally, as long as the deck calls to me in some way, I don’t care where I purchase it from. I cleanse, consecrate and charge any new deck whether I purchase in person or online.

Cleansing and charging your deck regularly by the full moon helps recharge your deck with your energy and intent and ridding your deck of any negative energy. After every full moon recharge, I will sit and meditate with my deck. I do this to reaffirm my intent and energy with my deck. It helps me to keep a connection with not only my deck, but to ground myself more.

Do you ever feel like you need to hide away and let go of daily stress? Do you do yoga to destress? Maybe you don’t know what helps?

For some, yoga is a form of meditation. For others it’s sitting quietly in a room with candles that are lit. Others it’s taking a walk, either in a park, in the woods on hiking trails. Others it’s listening to music while people watching or sitting in their backyard.

For me, meditation sessions vary. It depends on what I want to accomplish during that session. If I want to detach from the hustle and bustle of daily life I’ll take a walk through the trails on the farm. If I want to quiet my mind I’ll turn on some music, mostly flute music, nothing that’s fast paced, and sit on the floor. If I want to meditate and try to astral project or something similar to that, I’ll turn on guided meditations or music I know will help me achieve that.

There is also meditation to fix the chakras, to help the natural energy of the body to flow correctly, etc. I have meditated with a focus on a specific tarot card that I place in front of me.

When I look for music specific to meditation, I listen to Celtic music and Native American music. I research the music and artist to make sure it is authentic to that genre. I also listen to whale songs and find specific guided meditation music/spoken word.