Neuse River Witch

Traveling for Business - A Witch's View

September 24, 2017

One of the things I dread most is traveling for work. Each time I went on a plane, I would have to ask for the seat belt extension. The flights were crowded and the seats small. No one really wants to sit next to the "fat girl".

At the time of this writing I'm prepping for a trip to my companies home office. I have worked for the same company for nearly 15 years and work remotely. Over the years I have traveled to the office for special occasions, training sessions and product launches with the occasional visit for symposium.

Here are a few photos from those past visits.

This was one of my first trips with my company. I went to Vegas. Got an award. :P This photo was taken in 2005.

This photo was taken just after a trip to Orlando in 2009. I went down to work on site to help with an event my company was hosting. My cell phone was stolen while I was there on day 1 of a 5 day trip. I was grump. :P

This trip I needed to go out and buy all new clothes for the trip. Needless to say I'm still completely terrified about getting lost, showing up for work naked (ok not really) and/or spilling coffee on the boss. But at least that seat belt extension will be a fear that I can tuck away and never worry about again.

Here's the photo - Trip to Connecticut 2017.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson

This year after getting myself healthy I've been struggling with the whole Eff your Body Standards campaigns. While I get that we want to be happy and healthy in the skin we're in, we also don't want to be promoting unhealthy behaviors or celebrating a disease that is killing us. A few years ago I had my DNA tested and it revealed that I was prone to obesity. My DNA makes it harder for me to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight and with that opened up the door for a lot of weight related illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. I started at 250. Now this isn't the largest I have been. Before I had a gastric bypass surgery I was up to 305lbs. Today I'm at 175lbs with a total weight loss (this round of weight struggle) of 75lbs.

Hubby found Dr. Furhman. We have changed the way we work with food and it is really helping me this time.

So what should I weight? Dr. Furhman says the following:

Women: 95 lbs for the first five feet of height and four pounds for every inch there after.
Men: 105 lbs for the first first five feet of height and five pounds for every inch there after.

These are only rough guides since we all have different body types and bone structures - source

Currently I'm still obese according to the BMI at 33.1. I will be here for a bit. But then I didn't get fat overnight so why would I lose the weight overnight?

Screenshot- https://bmicalculator.mes.fm

According to Dr. Furhman's calculations I need to weigh around 99lbs. Should be interesting to see if I keep the negative foods out of my diet how close I get to that number.

Ultimately, you'll be able to tell where you should be based on how your body feels when you do day to day basis. Such as traveling for business. Is it hard to get in the airline seat? (Yes, I know they are really small but just give me a second.) Is it easier to board? How about putting your luggage in the overhead? How about buckling that belt?

Let me state clearly, you can be a full figured person and be healthy. You can be a skinny person and be unhealthy. Only you and your doctor can make that decision. The only thing I can share with you is my experience and what I have seen in my weight loss journey. And if I were given a degree for the years of study (or struggle) I have on this subject I would be walking around with a doctorate.

This post is not intended to body shame anyone. Take a moment and do a self assessment. Take what helps you from this post and leave the rest behind.

Recent Works - A Witch's View

September 17, 2017

Here are a few photos of some pieces I have been working on lately. I've always wanted to learn a type of channel setting for stones using wire weave instead of soldering. These are my attempts at that process.

This first piece is a Labradorite with Goldstone Cabachons.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

This second piece is a Labradorite with Swavorski Crystals.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

I created a couple of videos so you can see the flash on the stones. At the time of this writing all pieces are available for purchase. My webhost is dragging their feet at updating my page so I can't post these for sale. You can however message me directly on this blog or on my facebook page to purchase them.

Witchy Wednesday - Practical Magic Part 3

September 13, 2017

This week we're looking at part three of Practical Magic (Kindle) by Nikki Van De Car. Instead of a traditional review I thought I would take the next few weeks to go into each of the chapters with you at my first read as opposed to reading the entire book and then giving a review. You can find several of her publications at Running Press.

Photo Credit - Book Cover

Part Three of this book is titled Casual Clairvoyance. This section gives a high level overview of a few methods of divination. It reviews the Tarot, Palmistry, Astrology and Dream Interpretation. Keep in mind this is a beginner's book so the sections on each are short and provide a basic understanding of the art.

The Tarot section for example provides and overview of the suites, the major arcana and then two spreads. A basic three card (past, present and future) and what the author calls a Guidance Spread. I did a quick search on the net and couldn't find a reference to the Guidance Spread. Basically it is a nine card spread that is outlined in the book. While not the most in-depth reading spread I have seen, I think it is a great start for a beginner. If you're interested in this spread, you'll need to buy her book.

This is a brief video of a three card spread.

I am by no means an expert on the Tarot and I recommend that you reach out to a Tarot professional in your area or check out my sister Kallan's page for more information on Tarot and Totem readings.

Here are a couple videos on some of the other divination methods she discusses.

Dream Inpterpretation

Palmstry

Astrology

As I mention in previous posts, now is your chance to enter to win the Practical Magic Prize pack, which includes the book I reviewed for this series, along with the matching mini spell kit and a copy of Feng Crochet.

Be sure to come back and Tweet the giveaway each day for more entries into the hat.
Facebook, Blogger and Rafflecopter are in no way associated with this contest. Please click the link to login or enter with your email address below. I will announce the winner after they have been notified!

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Cover Art credited to the author

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I do not practice Wicca. I am not an expert on any of the traditions of Wicca. I am giving this information as a review of a book written by Nikki Van De Car. Feel free to message the page with questions, however do remember that I am a witch. Without a deity and without an specific tradition.

Memories - A Witch's View

September 10, 2017

I put an old memory card in my tablet from years and years ago today. It had a lot of old pictures on it that brought back so many memories. Since I use this space - A Witch's View - to show you the world thought my eyes, I thought it would be fun to go through my old memory card photos and share those with you. There were hundreds of photos on this card. Here are a few that struck me.

November 14, 2015 we were vending. It was SOOOOOO cold. It was also pretty Christian. I felt so out of place.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson

December 25, 2015 - We had a Christmas Frog in the house. Hubby grabbed it and set it free. It was warm for December. But yea, we had frogs.

December 30, 2015 - Apparently I was being a troll doll! LOL

Photo Credit Elijah Olson

February 22, 2016, hubby was practicing his drawing. He has mad skills.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Artist - Elijah Olson

March 21, 2016 Pandora playing with her "Sock-o-Monkey Bunny".

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

March 26, 2016, I made Eggs Benedict. We were not vegan at this point. No hollandaise, just eggs, muffin and sausage.

April 8, 2016, we had marshmallows.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

April 16, 2016, before a pee from Hurricane Matthew Eli and I were hunting for an RV. We were thinking about moving from our house into a travel trailer. I found this photo on the memory card.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson 2016

I remember walking around the trailer lots and my hips hurting so bad. No wonder. Thinking back to that time I don't feel like a new person. I honestly didn't realize how fat I was. You can see the pain on my face. I'm so glad that I took the steps to improve my life. Today. Life is good.

In October of 2016 Hurricane Matthew. We had upwards of 36 inches of water on our property. This photo was taken when we were finally able to get back to the property after the water receded.

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson

We set the yard stick up next to the back fence. You can see the waterline on the bushes. Pretty scary stuff.

Finding old memory cards are always exciting. Sometimes memories can be painful. Pandora left us later that year; her seizures finally getting the best of her. The house survived the flood and we're still here today. At the time of this writing we're expecting another hurricane to come through. I'm on travel and will be worried the entire time. Eggs Benedict and Marshmallows are no longer a part of my diet. Time goes by and changes so quickly. Always take a moment to stop and appreciate where you are in life. There may not be a memory card that you can whip out to see these actual images but they all live in your CPU. Dig in there and see what you can find.

Witchy Wednesday - Practical Magic - Part 2

September 6, 2017

This week we're looking at part two of Practical Magic (Kindle) by Nikki Van De Car. Instead of a traditional review I thought I would take the next few weeks to go into each of the chapters with you at my first read as opposed to reading the entire book and then giving a review. You can find several of her publications at Running Press.

Photo Credit - Book Cover

Part two of the book is called Magic for the Weekend Wiccan. Again the author takes us to a lighthearted look at magic and paganism. Here I could see where some more dedicated practitioners might be offended by this approach. Good information is often loss because no one looks past the title. I encourage my readers to bypass the possible uneasiness of the section header and check out the actual meat of the book. While not necessary for an advanced witch I can see how this may be used as an introduction into the magical world. Remember not every Witch practices Wicca.

The weekend chapters offer a brief (limited) view of herbs. We all know there are entire books dedicated to herbs so to expect this book to be a main resource would be misleading. There is a part on making tinctures, oils and poultices however I would again use this as only an introduction.

Our next section is on plant based magic. There are two pages of listed plants and in does point out that you should avoid belladonna. This is an extremely good idea. As this is a beginner book I would be surprised to see any other reference to it here. Frankly too many people do not take the warnings of herbalist seriously and end up getting sick. Herbs are nothing to muck around with and shouldn't be something that a beginner starts with. Interest in herbalism is a process. I recommend beginning with YouTube and find some great teachers to follow.

Next the author reviews the Wheel of the Year. These are are the holidays that are celebrated by many of the Pagan people. Not everyone celebrates these holidays but most have some sort of festival/ritual honoring the lunar and solar cycles. The author provides a brief history of each of the days including ways to celebrate and other correspondences such as the herb, color and stones for each.

The final part of this chapter talks directly about magic. The section header is called White Magic. My brain was like ... Hey, what?? No! Just stop, there's no such thing as white mag......

Then the author nipped that in the bud in the very first sentence. I was glad to see that. She boldly stated the fact, Magic is magic. It has no color. YES! Thank you, Nikki!

She goes on to break down, albeit briefly, the types of spells out there and even provides a simple spell for beginners to follow. I was pleased to see how she handled this section. It could have truly been a train wreck.

Next week I'll review Section 3 on Causal Clairvoyance and then wrap up this review. Remember you can grab your copy by clicking the links above and I will be compiling a giveaway from all the comments on this blog series and I'll do a giveaway with this book, the matching kit and another book called Feng Crochet all by the same author.

Disclaimer: I do not practice Wicca. I am not an expert on any of the traditions of Wicca. I am giving this information as a review of a book written by Nikki Van De Car. Feel free to message the page with questions, however do remember that I am a witch. Without a deity and without an specific tradition.