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2021 Recap!
I enjoy looking back + seeing all the progress I’ve made over the year. It helps me realize that I did in fact actually do things + work toward my goals.
Sometimes my brain likes to tell me that I’ve done NOTHING + gotten NOTHING accomplished, that I’ve wasted the whole year.
Does your brain do that to you too?
Maybe looking back through your year to see all that you’ve done will benefit you too!
This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission should you choose to make a purchase using my link (at no extra cost to you!). I only recommend things I have personally used + love!
- Took lots of walks at parks
- Hiked in the mountains as much as possible
- Helped my sister Gemini move
- Reconnected with AD
- Went to a wedding
- Made new friends
- Cried a lot
- Had some of the most painful menstrual cramps of my life
- Visited/traveled to:
- Durham/Raleigh NC
- NC mountains
- DC
- PA
- Cleveland OH
- Microdosed mushrooms a few times
- Took a voice lesson
- Saw the Van Gogh immersive exhibit
- Learned about my ancestry
- Got tested for STIs
- Learned about my HSV1+ status
- Helped out at the local camera store
- Went to the mountains with my dads side of the family
- Got vaccinated
- Finalized my name change!!! I am SO excited about this!
- Tattoo appointment almost every month (finished outlining + started color… vlog post about all this coming soon!)
- Went camping with a friend
- Journaled every day
- Did energy practices almost every day
Let me know what you’d like to see from me in 2022 by responding to my survey!
- Redid/updated my website
- Created a welcome automation for my newsletter
- Taught Self Portraits for Self Discovery + Connection workshop for The Light Factory
- Created Self Portraiture for Self Discovery + Connection ebook + Inspiration + Planning workbook
- Created + shared Queer Nature slideshow
- Applied for a residency + didn’t get it (practice failing to get closer to accomplishing!)
- Facilitated peer support sessions
- Quit social media!!! Thank you Leonie Dawson for helping me feel like this was even possible!
- Filmed for Nudism.TV (with my family!) for 4 days
- Worked on meditations with Jenna + Lior
- Photoshoots:
- Facilitated virtual nude gatherings: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October (total of 8 gatherings)
- Facilitated a first look at self portraits members only event
I was only able to accomplish these things because of the support from members of my website, thank you so much!
- Became an LLC
- Got a business bank account
- GBTL events: Jan, Feb x2, March x2, April x2, May x3, June x2, July, August, September (total of 15 events!!!)
- GBTL met up in person to create + facilitate backstage pass
- Many many meetings + video chats + text messages behind the scenes
Click here to learn more about Going Beyond the Lens
- Explore More Summit 2020
- Sales Star with Leonie Dawson
- Marketing Without Social Media with Leonie Dawson
- Black Friday Training with Elizabeth Goddard
- Intersex Period Pandel Discussion with Crystal Hendricks, Mari Wrobi, Nick Manchester, Yezenia León Mezu, + Sean Saifa Wall
- Identity + Representation Panel Discussion with Roarie Yum, Jade Wilson, Paige Wilson, Deitric Robsinon-Miller, Kiah Glenn, + John Robinson-Miller IV
- Breathwork For Aliveness with Jennifer Patterson
- Emotion Mapping with Dawn Serra
- Boundaries Class with Luna Dietrich
- Live Your F*ck Yes Life Summit (non monogamy + polyamory) with Amanda Katherine Loy, Chad Spangler/polyamfam, Leanne Yau/polyphiliablog, Ebony/Marjani Lane, + Jess Levity/remodeledlove
- Women Race + Class by Angela Davis
- The Language of Emotions by Karla McLaren
- We Will Not Cancel Us by adrienne maree brown
- Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
- My Grandmothers Hands by Resmaa Menakem
- I Hope We Choose Love by Kai Cheng Thom
- Evolution’s Rainbow by Joan Roughgarden
- Rebloom by Rachael Maddox
- Seven Thousand Ways to Listen by Mark Nepo
- Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson
Check out the organized list of HUNDREDS of books I want to read!
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💌 share this with your friends
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Holding Space for Difficult Emotions with Self Portraiture
(Click here to watch video in another window)
CAPTION FOR THE VIDEO ABOVE:
Good morning! Well, it might not be morning for you, but it’s morning for me, so I’m saying good morning. Today I wanted to just say hi and thank you for being here and I’m kind of struggling to figure out what I want to say. I think it’s because I put a lot of pressure on myself to do things in a way that makes sense, and I don’t always make sense, so the things I do don’t always make sense, and it’s okay. I’m a human. I don’t want to repeat myself on here, but I do also want to share cool things with you.
So, I thought that I would just share a little bit of information… I think I already did. But about these photos that I’m about to share with you, that are down below. I already said some of it when I was talking about self portraits, was it last month, maybe October? Recently, I was talking about self portraits and on November, I think it was the 18th. I did a kind of like a co-working session, sort of like a, it was a sneak-peek preview of the self portraits that I had taken that I haven’t shared anywhere yet, which are these photos that are about to be shared with y’all!! Thank you. For those of you who came and joined me on Zoom live to go through the photos. That was really fun. I’ll probably do that again.
So, the backstory for these photos, if you missed the blog previously, whatever that was. I don’t have dates in my brain.
CLICK HERE FOR THE VLOG ABOUT WHY SELF PORTRAITS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME
If you missed the vlog these photos, I took, I believe it was in May of 2020…. 2021? No, 2021 for sure it was this year? Maybe this year? I’m pretty sure. It was in May, I think it was this year. I took them in my sister’s house, she had just sold her house. So I think that was this year. She had just sold her house and we had already like moved everything out of the house so it was empty.
I used to live with her in that house for maybe a year and a half or two years and I had some pretty tough times when I was living there… for several reasons. Gemini is awesome, she’s a great sister. I love like, she’s easy to live with honestly. But yeah, like so the tough times didn’t necessarily have to do with her, it was just like circumstances. I had some tough times when I was living in the house, and since it was empty and I was there by myself, I took self-portraits.
I had a lot of feelings. A lot of feelings!!! and I just allowed myself to feel the feelings, because feelings are not always easy to feel. And sometimes I need like, to hold that space for myself. And sometimes the easiest way to do that is with photos, by taking self portraits and whether or not I ever share them with anyone. Like, it doesn’t matter as much, because to me what matters is the way that I feel and like allowing myself to have those feelings and like holding space for that.
Usually I’m able to like kind of focus and get in that zone when I’m taking self portraits, so I did that. I released a lot of the feelings, like, frustrations and sadness and upsets that I experienced in the house, in that house while I was taking the self-portraits before I could no longer go in the house. Like it’s already sold to someone. So that was actually the last time I was ever in that house. And as you can see in the photos, I was quite emotional.
And then after I like cried and released all my feelings, I just like danced around and got sweaty and was silly. And that also felt really good. Like it’s nice to kind of swing from one thing to another sometimes instead of like “oh I have to be really sad this whole day and let my feelings take over me for the entire day and focus on those.”
I don’t have to do that. I enjoy like, “okay, let me feel it to my feelings and like release them and see how long that feels. And then after that, if I feel up to it, the maybe I’ll do something else that feels better. That can bring me back to my more normal okay self.” So I cried, was really upset and let myself feel all that and like, hold space for that. And then after that, I was like, all right, let’s put some music on and then I danced and felt more and was able to have a range of emotions in the house.
So, yeah, that’s that’s the story behind these photos. The ones where really emotional and like crying and stuff are in what used to be my bedroom. Empty, of course, and I actually I took a bunch that were really like dark and moody and then I also took some that were lighter and I really actually like the dark ones the best. I haven’t fully decided if I’m going to edit these photos yet, so whether or not I edit them, you’ll see whatever I did. Because I haven’t decided, I’m probably going to decide about editing before I share this. And I haven’t decided yet as of making this video, so we’ll see. They’re all digital. I usually don’t edit film but sometimes I do edit video er digital because film just looks better and doesn’t need an edit. The digital like looks like digital and usually need a little bit of more like punchiness. So yeah, I haven’t decided about editing yet. We’ll see.
These are the photos… after I took the photos in the bedroom, I moved to the living room, which is the purple room that you see. Gemini’s house is so colorful, I loved it. Her living room was purple, and her kitchen was like bright green color, and the bathroom was like, teal kind of turquoise-y kinda blue. Yeah, she had a really colorful house and I loved it. I don’t know if the people who bought it kept the colors or not, but I thought it was fun to live in a very colorful house.
So yeah, that’s the story behind these photos, I hope you like them. I do have some more photos to go through that I have taken in the last year that I haven’t done anything with yet. So I might do another one of those like let’s look at them together live things. Yeah, so keep an eye out for that. I’ll probably do that again. Just not sure when I don’t have any dates yet, but I’ll of course let you know when that’s going to happen.
Yeah that’s all I have to say. Thank you! I love you so much! I appreciate so much that you’re here. I’m going to put my survey below. If you haven’t answered my survey, please, I would love to hear your feedback on what kind of content you would like to receive from me, because I want to make things that you’re interested in and that will benefit you.
I hope you liked my non-monogamy stuff for November. I had fun talking about it and I probably could talk more about it. So, yeah, reply to the survey below if you haven’t yet and let me know what kinds of things you’re interested in, and I will do my best to do more of that! Okay. Byeee!
Click here to respond to my survey + help me create content you want to see!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ENTIRE 65 IMAGE PHOTOSET
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Ecosexual Time Capsule ❤ part 2
2017 in the NC mountains with Antisocialdisposition
With DWL Photo in Philly in 2017
SC with Darius Ollison, 2017. I slept in my little hatchback the night before this early morning shoot!
My sister took these! NC 2017
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on December 2nd 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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If you’ve been here for a little while or you have archive access, you’ve probably already seen some of the sets that Edgar and I created last time I was in Chicago. We created so much that day and I’m excited to share this bathtub set with you! We started out with a plain bath and then added one of my favorite bath bombs from Blood Lily Bath that turns the water dramatically black. The bathtub was huge and super slippery of course so it was actually pretty difficult for me to pose in but we were able to create a lot of really great images despite the bathtub challenge.
In other news, my birthday was on Thursday (Nov 30) and it was wonderful! Antisocialdisposition took some time off from school and working on the NASA USLI project to spend extra time with me which made me feel extra special. Wednesday night we drove almost 2 hours to Greensboro to watch Devin Townsend in concert. He is one of AD & my favorite musicians and we have made it a point to see him every time he visits anywhere near us. The 2 times we saw him before this one we drove all the way to Atlanta (4 hrs away)! The show was amazing as always, and I bought my favorite album of his (Addicted) at the merch booth before we left. It has been playing nonstop in my car since the concert. We got home late, went to bed, slept in and had a lazy morning, then he went to campus to work for a few hours and I had the afternoon to myself. I treated myself to an awesome bath, complete with a crystal grid of course, and read from my new book that AD got me for my birthday, The Hidden Life of Trees. I’m only a couple of chapters in and I really love it so far! I worked on a special new project for a couple of hours, then AD came home and we went to our favorite sushi place! I’m one lucky human.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend filled with all of your favorite things! <3
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Video tier! I’ve just uploaded:
10 videos to show you how I celebrated my birthday (Devin Townsend concert, bathtime with crystals, & sugar consumption yay), a butt-centric body movement video, &9 cheeky boomerangs with my sister Gemini.
All members have access to this complete 36 image photoset by clicking here, the 10 videos to show you how I celebrated my birthday by clicking here, the body movement video by clicking here, & 9 cheeky boomerangs with my sister Gemini by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on October 28th 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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Gemini and I were both at our parents house recently and I brought my camera and some film along just in case I felt like taking some photos. We were looking for snacks in the fridge and saw a whole bunch of juicy looking cherries and knew that they would make a great (and messy) prop for a photoshoot. We have both been wanting to take photos with either blood or something that looks like blood for a while… cherry juice definitely looks like blood! I’m glad I waited until this weekend (the one closest to Halloween) to share this set with you. I think it’s the perfect set for this time of year.
We started out the shoot with some detail shots with cherries in them and then quickly started making a mess with them, dripping the juice all over her skin. By the end of the shoot she was absolutely covered in cherry juice! You can really see how covered she was in the behind the scenes photos and videos I’ve added to the galleries. Surprisingly it didn’t take her long at all to rinse it off. I thought it might stain her skin but thankfully it didn’t.
I’d really like to do a messy fruit shoot like this again. What fruit would you like to see?
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I took a LOT of behind the scenes videos during this shoot, so members have access to all EIGHT of them! I think my favorite one is the one where you can watch me dripping the juice on her chest.
I’m also uploading a video of me doing a nude headstand, just because it’s fun and I like sharing videos with you. =] It’s wonderful to see videos from a year or so ago when I was first practicing headstands. I was so wobbly and I fell frequently. I’m so much steadier and stronger now! I think aerial silks has helped me a lot not only with strength, but also with balance and confidence in what my body is capable of. Now I want to learn handstands!
All members have access to this complete 50 image photoset by clicking here, the BTS photos by clicking here, the BTS videos by clicking here, and the nude headstand video by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on August 12th 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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Tiffany Helms and Jeff Waters hosted me while I was in Philly, and one of the mornings I was there Tiffany and I took these fun photos! She placed a bunch of googly eyes on my shoulder and photographed me using a fancy colorful gadget she made to create all the cute dots of color. You’ll probably recognize the googly eyes from the selfies and boomerangs I shared while I was there.
Later that day we shot in the graffiti-filled abandoned house from last week’s post! Jeff took a few photos of me in the greenery growing all over the inside of the house. That day was just so fantastic. =D
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This month’s nude yoga video is now in the galleries! I didn’t plan it this way but my sister Gemini ended up doing nude yoga with me! I practiced leading a yoga flow which I have only done a couple of times, talking Gemini through the poses. I’m excited that I got to practice this because I plan on taking a yoga teacher training course in the next year or two and need all the practice I can get! The video irritatingly cuts off at the end before we finished the flow, which I didn’t realize until we were already done. =[ I ran out of memory/space! I’m currently doing all of my videos with my phone until I can afford a nice video camera so I’m doing the best I can with what I have.
How awesome is it that two months in a row someone from my family joined me for nude yoga?! =D It makes me so happy that my family is so incredibly supportive of me. I am so grateful, I know I’m very lucky to have such a wonderful family.
I’ve added 2 aerial silks videos of me doing star drop to the video gallery as well! It’s a fun drop that doesn’t look super exciting in the videos but I just need to work on it more to make it more dramatic.
Photos Tiffany took:
Photo Jeff took:
All members have access to this complete 5 image film photoset taken by Tiffany Helms by clicking here, the 5 image digital photoset by clicking here, the 11 image photoset by Jeff Waters by clicking here, the nude yoga video with my sister by clicking here, and the aerial silks videos by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on July 22nd 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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I’ve been saving this set for a bit because I love it so much. Sometimes I want to hold onto things a little while, I enjoy having solitary time with them before other eyes have a chance to see.
I am close with my sister Gemini, in both age (18 months apart) and relationship (best friends). We don’t get to see each other as much since AD & I moved to a place about 45 minutes away from her and my parents. We used to be 15-20 minutes away. She has gone through a lot in her life in a way that I’ve been fortunate enough to never experience. She is strong, courageous, intuitive, genuine, complicated, unique, and oh so beautiful. I’m lucky to know her, and blessed to call her my sister. <3
We took these self portraits together when we were in San Antonio in March. I love creating with her!
Gemini has been considering starting her own Patreon, I’ll let you know when she has it up and running! She has a kinky side that will definitely show up on her page. You already know this if you follow her on IG, she recently posted some waxplay photos and she loves being an adorable fox (yeah, complete with ears and tail!).
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Since this is a Gemini appreciation post, I’m sharing a video of her foxing around in two futos. It’s fun to practice shibari on her and she loves it. She’s super cute walking around on her knees, especially when she loses her balance hehehe.
And, just because I feel like it, I’m sharing a backyard yoga timelapse video too! =D
All members have access to this complete 90 image photoset by clicking here, the backyard yoga timelapse video by clicking here, and the videos of Gemini foxing around in futos by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on June 3rd 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what is actually ME vs what has been planted into my brain by our culture, specifically American culture. I want to challenge culture.
Ok, I guess I probably should explain. Let’s talk about everyday life and things that are “normal.” You get up in the morning, take a shower, put on your gender-appropriate clothes, and get ready for your day. You leave your house or apartment and drive or take public transportation to work or school. You see other people looking the way they “should” look ie: wearing “appropriate” clothes, women wearing makeup with their hair done, men with short hair and possibly facial hair etc. You go about your day, eat at a restaurant or get something take out or delivered for lunch, finish your day at work or school, and come home to your significant other (most likely of the opposite sex). Sounds pretty normal, right? Of course, because it’s what American culture has taught us is normal.
Well, what would your everyday life be like if you lived in a remote area as a member of a community that doesn’t have the internet or even power, who hunts and gathers and gardens for their food? Normal everyday life would probably be waking up when the sun comes up, doing your duties for the community such as hunting or gathering or gardening, eating meals with family & friends, and telling stories by a fire before you go to bed only an hour or two after sundown.
“Normal” is different for everyone depending on where and how they grew up. American culture tells us that there is a formula you have to follow in order to be “normal.” If you’re not “normal” those who are very deep into American culture don’t know what to do with you and call you a freak or beat you up or judge you or something else that’s not very nice.
WHY do we (people with American culture deeply ingrained in them) assume that anyone that’s not like us is bad or weird or stupid or in need of our help to become more like us? I don’t want to live in a world where everyone is the same. I want to live in a DIVERSE world where there are a multitude of different cultures, ideas, and points of view.
I want to challenge culture. I want to experience things that are not “normal.” I want to do, wear, listen to, be a part of things that make me HAPPY and because I WANT TO, not because it’s expected of me or because that’s what everyone else is doing.
What do you do every day to follow culture?
What do you do every day to follow your HEART?
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This week I’ve uploaded a special acrobatic nude video of me hanging out of a tree!
I’ve also included 2 aerial silks videos from when I was first learning scorpion. One video is me doing scorpion for an entire minute. It doesn’t seem like that long until you’re hanging by your legs doing a backbend, then a minute is a long time! Haha The other is of me doing a skin the cat exit from scorpion. =]
This month I’m starting a monthly nude yoga video! I’ll be uploading that in the next week or two, look for that soon. Yay! I’m really looking forward to creating these yoga videos. I don’t have a great camera for video but I do what I can, it just limits me to videos at 10 minutes maximum length. I have a future goal of buying a nice video-capable digital camera so every pledge helps me get a little closer to higher quality videos just for you!
All members have access to this complete 31 image self portrait photoset by clicking here, the 34 image photoset by clicking here, and all the videos by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on April 29th 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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This week I just want to share a ton of positive affirmations with you. <3
I awaken each morning with happiness and gratitude.
I find joy in everything that I do.
I love to share laughter with others.
By allowing myself to be happy, I inspire others to be happy as well.
Happiness is my natural state of being.
I am able to be completely myself in my relationship.
I communicate my desires and needs clearly and confidently.
I know exactly what I need to do to achieve success.
I am capable of anything I set my mind to.
I never lose, I either learn or I win.
I easily find solutions to challenges and move past them quickly.
I live in the present and am confident in the future.
I love change and easily adjust myself to new situations.
I always see the good in others.
I attract positive confident people.
I love myself deeply and completely.
I know that I am worthy of the best things in life.
I fill my mind with positive and nourishing thoughts.
I trust myself and know that my inner wisdom is my best guide.
I nourish my body with healthy food.
Every cell in my body vibrates with energy and good health.
Every inhale brings in positive energy, every exhale expels negativity.
I surround myself with peaceful, loving people.
I release past anger and hurt and attract peace, love, and joy.
I am grateful for this moment and find joy in it.
I am here now.
I am fully present in all of my relationships.
I release the past and live fully in the present.
All is well in my world.
I love you, you’re the absolute best. <3 Enjoy these self portraits with my sister Gemini.
All members have access to the complete 51 image photoset by clicking here & the complete 38 image photoset by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on April 8th 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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Mercury retrograde starts tomorrow and continues until May 3rd. This might be why I feel like I’ve been in a funk lately! What is Mercury retrograde and why should I care about it? When a planet is in retrograde it appears to be moving backward in its orbit as viewed from Earth. Retrograde comes from the Latin term “retrogradus” which means “backward step.” The planets, moon, sun, and stars all affect things that happen here on Earth, and Mercury (named after the Greek messenger god) governs communication and transportation. When Mercury is in retrograde its positive influence is turned into more of a “negative” one. Since Mercury governs communication, transportation, and everything that goes along with it (contracts, business, documents, shipping, travel…) you will notice that those things tend to fall apart or become chaotic when Mercury is in retrograde. Things might get lost in the mail, a business meeting may go terribly wrong, or your car might break down. Astrologers recommend to not make any important plans or moves during Mercury retrograde because they most likely will not go well. I have a friend who won’t get any work done on his car, make any plans, or make any major purchases during Mercury retrograde. Pay attention to how things go for you now until May 3rd to see how Mercury retrograde affects you.
Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are currently in retrograde. If you’d like to read more about what these planets affect when they are in retrograde, check out these links for Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. If you’d like to see where all the planets currently are I like this website.
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The sets I’m sharing today are from our time in San Antonio! My sister Gemini and I took SO MANY self portraits together at the airbnb we stayed at. There are a total of 7 sets, I haven’t even been able to go through all of them yet! I’ll be sharing a couple of sets at a time over the next several weeks. I really love them and I’m excited to show you all of them! We took all but one set in the back yard, there were a couple of interesting barns that made for wonderful backdrops. We were lucky and there was a privacy fence so the nearby neighbors had no idea! There was a guy fixing a roof a few houses away that might have seen us though….
All members have access to the complete 38 image photoset by clicking here, and the complete 50 image photoset by clicking here.