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{summer’s final moon}

i just never tire of experiencing the ocean… the sight, the smell, the sound… the feeling, the energy all around!

i also never tire of experiencing the moon… equally as much wonderful energy to behold!

i went down to the shore over the weekend for some {much needed} vitamin sea and to admire and enjoy the ocean and the full moon. by the time i got to the beach, the moon was just coming up over the horizon… and some hazy clouds initially obstructed the view.

still… breathtaking, right?!

it wasn’t long before the moon peeked out of the ombre sky and shared her beauty with us one again, in her final appearance of summer.

i walked around for a good hour or so, gazing in wanderlust as the moon took place high in the sky, illuminating all it touched…

… listening to the crashing waves, my senses engaged with the salty air, my toes wiggling in the soft sand…

feeling humbled and grateful for all that has been before me and all that is around me now. for all that will be, for all that i am, for all that i have, and for all that i have yet to experience.

Tags: art, artist, atlantic ocean, audrey michelle, beach, beach life, beauty, blogger, blogging, blogs, cycles, fotographer, fotography, full moon, gratitude, life, love, mermaid life, nature, nature photography, north carolina, ocean, photographer, photography, summer, wrightsville beach

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Categories art, audrey michelle, beauty, beer, blogging, life, nature, north carolina, ocean, photography, the food, travel, whatever

{a personal post : bye bye 2014, my last blog for a little while, happy new year, 2015 – 8, new beginnings, cycles, the universe, etc etc…}

31 Dec

wow.

so i’m sitting here… alone… with my baba black lager. it’s new year’s eve. the last day of 2014. the final day in this calendar year… 2014 was a numerology #7. 2015 will be a numerology #8. i could write a whole blog about the significance of numbers, etc. i just think cycles are so interesting… cycles of all kinds… the seasons, numbers, etc.

does anyone else get all weird on this day? like, it’s just another day really… but somehow i find the energy to be soooooo … intense. in many ways.

like, i woke up restless – what’s that about? and i slept for like, 9 hours last night.

oh yeah, it’s not just because it’s new year’s eve… it’s because things are changing… again. at least for me, personally… in my life, everything is changing… including where i live… i’m saying good-bye to the tiny home… with a bittersweet feeling in my heart.

you know they say that the only constant in life is change. how funny is that!? like, well – you can guarantee this – stuff’s gonna be different tomorrow. not everything will be different, but a lot of it will… because that’s how life rolls… it doesn’t care if we are ready for the change or not… it just keeps on changing. people change, astrology changes, rules change, the weather changes, laws change, … most things around us do NOT stay the same… including the people in our lives, and those we love.

so what’s my point?

i dunno, maybe i don’t have one. maybe i just wanted to sit down in front of my computer and keep it real with you readers… and myself. maybe i’m tired of trying to “keep it together” all the time… as in, always having the perfect thing to say and taking so much time to think about how to express myself… because i’m so scared of being misunderstood. maybe i just wanted to be spontaneous and sit down and write while i felt the desire, the thoughts flowing, the keys being struck with force and purpose… maybe i want to just say whatever i feel and not be worried about how everyone else is gonna perceive it…

maybe i’m just feeling the baba… 😉

so how do you feel about the idea that the only thing we can be sure of is that things change… how does that make you feel? is it comforting to know that with each moonset and each sunrise, that life can end and begin all over again?! does that give you peace to know that tomorrow… tomorrow… the sun will come out?! or does it make you kinda crazy to know that you can’t ever really count on anything?! does it give you total anxiety to feel like as soon as you get comfortable with something or someone, there is damn good potential for it to morph into something else entirely and seem completely illusive?!

i feel like there is a balance… as with most things in life.

most days i’m so thankful to begin anew… to wipe clean the “yesterday” that never really exists in the first place… to wake feeling renewed and purposeful again. i learned a lot about the beauty in each new day when i lived in new york… it’s amazing how that city just doesn’t stop for anything… it doesn’t care if you didn’t get the memo, it doesn’t care if you aren’t walking fast enough, if you missed your subway stop, or if you aren’t feeling its embrace. when living there, i had to learn how to be so completely present that nothing seemed to really effect me to the point of not being able to continue to be in the moment.

my challenge this year is to get back to that space…

i’ve been practically beating my head against the wall trying to figure out where i went… what happened to the person that seemed to be able to really stay in the moment… to embrace it even when it was chaotic, unpredictable, and sometimes down-right scary. where did that audrey go that i spent 29 years trying to find when i met her in new york?!

she didn’t go anywhere… it took me all of 2014 to realize that.

i mean, seriously. just this past week i had the total epiphany that nothing is “wrong” with me… and if there is in fact anything that i feel uncomfortable with – that I, personally, have the power to change it. i can and always do create change in my life when i am feeling a need for it. sometimes it’s not always clear to me, but it’s almost like i do things without even thinking sometimes… and then when i’m on the other side of it, i go, “oh yeah… i see why we did this.”

i guess that’s true with everything in life… hindsight is 20/20, right?!

well, all i know is… i’m feeling more comfortable with change… dare i say, i’m embracing it. i’m not saying i love “change” during every moment while i’m in it… but i’m okay with the idea that everything seems “fleeting…” because really… if it’s true that the only constant in life is change… well, then i wanna make sure to be so immersed in each passing moment, that i love it for what it is… recognizing that it will never again be the same… that each moment really is a gift. maybe it’s not a gift wrapped in colourful paper and bows, maybe it’s not a gift we asked for… maybe it’s a gift we didn’t realize we needed.

but it’s still a gift… if we can be open to receiving it…

personally, i’m feeling happy to be letting go something while completely surrendering to something new and exciting. for me, my personal changes happen to coincide with the calendar change… but i’ve always been a firm believer that you can choose to make a change at any given moment in your life. you don’t have to have anyone validate your decision to change, you don’t have to have a party or mark it on your calendar… hell, you don’t even have to invite anyone. you can choose to make changes in your life while washing your dishes… you can choose to create a new life while driving to work… there are no rules for that. you can live life on your terms, but in order to do so, you must live life on your terms.

does THAT give you comfort?! it sure does me… 🙂

so, as i ring in the new year and celebrate new beginnings, my heart is filled with gratitude for all the loving people, places, and things i’ve experienced. i just want to continue to hold a space of gratitude… and to be open to new things as i step boldly out of the familiar and into the unknown…

happy new year! – to each and every one of you. thank you for following my blog, for engaging and for taking time to read and give this blog purpose… i’m truly grateful to each one of you.

❤

p.s. – i’m not gone forever… just a temporary hiatus while i adjust to some new things… i’ll be back to blogging in no time…

Tags: 2014, 2015, astrology, audrey michelle, blogging, change, changes, cycles, food and foto, get over it, letting your guard down, life, love, new beginnings, new years, new york, new york city, nyc, NYE, personal, self-help, self-love, thoughts, universe, whatever, words, writing

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Categories astrology, blogging, life, mountains, new york, quotes, stories, the foodie, thoughts, tiny house, whatever, writing

{mercury retrograde : october 4th – 25th}

4 Oct

it’s that time again!

you walk into the other room and suddenly completely forget why you went in there…

that’s right – it’s MERCURY RETROGRADE!

mercury will be taking his backward journey in the sign of scoprio/libra from october 4th through october 25th. as always, MR periods offer a chance for a “do-over” in some areas of our lives. sometimes people from the past resurface or we get a chance to look at something from a different perspective, and perhaps make a different or more clear decision about it. MR gets a bad rap, but it can really offer a second-chance in a way, we just have to be open. mercury retrograde just wants us to consider things from ALL SIDES, and to make decisions from a more introspective mentality. sometimes we need to see things form a different angle, and that sheds light onto a subject in a way we perhaps hadn’t noticed before. conversely, sometimes MR periods cast “shadows” on matters… afterall, mercury himself is the epitome of duality – having both equal parts dark and light. sometimes the key is to trust the saying, “if one door closes, another one will open.” the key is also to go within, and trust your intuition a little more.

some of the other key things to remember during mercury retrograde are as follows…

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try not to sign any major documents… and if you must, go over all the paperwork with a fine-tooth comb, as they say, and make sure to “dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s” – MR periods tend to cause our minds to easily overlook small but important details, so it is usually advised that one does not do something like say – purchase a home or sign divorce papers – and the like, during this time.

allow for extra time during travel… or try not to do too much of it in general – MR periods tend to slow down travel/transportation overall but by allowing for extra time, frustration can be easily avoided. i always suggest leaving the house an extra 10-15 minutes early on your way to work, just in case.

do your best not to make any major decisions… mercury is the ultimate trickster. it’s important to use this time to “incubate” your thoughts… pay attention to how they may change or how you may suddenly see something in a whole new way. MR periods have potential to cause confusion, so it is advised to let your thoughts simmer rather than act on them right away.

triple check your work… in going along with “crossing all your t’s” and such {which is kind of a weird thing to say in this modern keyboard-driven technological world we live in}, MR periods beg for us to make sure to pay attention to the details. it’s easy to forget something that may seem like a habit to you. so just do your best to take a few extra moments to make sure you shut the garage door, replied to that important email, or sent a text to the right person 😐

be conscious of your words and any miscommunication… it’s one of the biggest downfalls of MR periods. sometimes you may just NOT hear someone right, or sometimes you may struggle to find the proper words to express yourself, or sometimes you may misunderstand what a person said – or vice versa. just slow down, go easy, and remember that it will pass. and try not to hold a grudge against someone if there in fact is some miscommunication… you can always talk it out after the 25th 🙂

—

of course, if you are a natal mercury retrograde soul like myself, you always have the green light for any of the things listed above. it’s not to say that these periods don’t effect us in these categories, it’s just that we have a different way of interacting with the energies, since we live it on a daily basis.

mercury will be traveling through scoprio and libra during these 3 weeks. some areas of our lives in which MR may have an effect are – divorce, sex, death, rebirth, finances {scorpio} and relationships, partners, clients, fairness, equality {libra}.

if you want to read more of my rants about mercury retrograde events, you can click HERE.

and i hope you backed up your important stuff recently… just sayin’

have fun! ❤