Nonya's Nonsense Issue #1
Welcome and thank you!!!
Helloooooooooooo Beautiful souls!!
Welcome to my very first newsletter and thank you for subscribing, I am grateful for you! It is my hope that you will look forward to seeing Nonya’s Nonsense in your inbox every week :)
My goal is to not only recap the highlights of the previous week but to inspire you and create a more intimate connection between us. You can reply to this email directly or comment if you are on (or join) Substack. There’s a pretty big learning curve for me and this newsletter will change and grow with me so feedback is not only welcome but appreciated!
I’d like to start each week with an inspirational quote so here is today’s:
I chose this quote because I know current energies for the collective have been a little difficult, to say the least. One thing that has helped me through some of my most difficult times has been my determination to make the best of what I’ve got.
Focusing on what’s wrong will only make things worse. Focus instead on possible solutions and ways to bring joy into your day. Being flexible is imperative and finding things to be grateful for every day will automatically raise your spirits while calling in more to be grateful for!
Talk to others and ask for help, see what resources are available to you. Most of all, remember that everything is temporary, this too shall pass 💙
This Week’s Highlights
Below you will find highlights of what I’ve written and created this past week as well as today’s Message from the Universe. I will make a table of contents for easy navigation but for some reason, I have to publish this newsletter before I can add it 🙄
Table of Contents:
A Message from the Universe ~ Feeling a Little Overwhelmed?
YouTube Update
Weird Creatures, Places, and Facts
A Message from the Universe ~ Feeling a Little Overwhelmed?
Originally published on August 18, 2024 on HalfCrackedGuru.com
Today’s Message from the Universe advises you to do some purging and seek out the wonderful things about yourself that make you the brilliant being that you are!
There’s a lot going on here! It’s only fitting, I suppose. Mercury is in retrograde, we’re starting to feel the energy of the coming full moon in Aquarius. This moon is both a supermoon as well as a “seasonal” blue moon and there’s a bunch of other planetary stuff going on.
You may be feeling more emotional than usual or exhausted for seemingly no reason, and I’ll bet that you have wanted to throw at least one electronic device out the window! Of course, all this only complicates whatever you’re already struggling with.
Take heart! This can be some seriously difficult energy to work with but it is quite temporary. You may have been feeling like you need to purge emotions or your physical space but even if you haven’t this is a good time to do so. Clean your space and clear your head. It’s a good idea to clean up your schedule as well or at least temporarily cut out some of the non-urgent items. This is the time to give yourself a little grace. Allow yourself to rest a little more and indulge in some “guilty” pleasures.
There is also a strong element of self-doubt and feeling like you’re “less than.” Don’t let this feeling convince you that you are somehow not enough. Focus on what you like and even love about yourself and make that louder than the fear and doubt. It’s not usually an easy thing to do but does become easier with practice.
You are a beautiful beacon for those who have lost their way! You have tread paths that they are just beginning to travel and you know things that can make that path easier for them than it was for you. Remember this when doubt creeps in, you are full of light even when you feel shrouded in darkness.
Today’s Crystals
Today’s Deck
Check Out This Deck
Today’s Music
YouTube Update
I am working on creating pick-a-card videos for YouTube and it’s taking longer than expected. Rest assured that I am not giving up! Both my physical space and health issues make things take a little longer so please bear with me! Here’s the most recent update I posted on Medium and free links to the other updates:
My YouTube Journey: Murphy’s Law
Part 4 of my YouTube journey
Originally published on July 29, 2024 on Medium.com/@trishhcg
It’s been about three weeks since my last update regarding my YouTube journey so I figured it was about time for another one. I’m not giving up, I promise!
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
-Edward Aloysius Murphy Jr.
ICYM
I am trying to get my YouTube channel up and running and my first video will “pick-a-card” tarot reading. I will link my previous updates below.
Friday 7/12/24
I recorded some footage for the video but there were constant interruptions. I kept trying though! There I was, doing all these takes and not even realizing I ran out of space on my phone. I decided to step away for a bit and make some space on my phone so I could get back to it a little later but my cat usurped my chair so I decided to order a new SD card and called it a day.
Wednesday 7/17/24
Today I finally completed recording the entire video, except I didn’t. As I started to review the footage, I realized that my mic cut out within the first ten minutes of the two hours of video I shot. I have nobody to blame but myself. The mic worked right out of the box so I never charged it.
Then, as I was doing a bit of cleaning, I spilled coffee all over my workspace! It spilled on one of my tarot decks and soaked the mat I use as a background for all my photos and videos. Luckily, you can barely tell I spilled on the cards and the mat was easy to wash.
Anybody who knows me in real life knows I should have been using a travel mug as I am the clumsiest person you will ever meet.
Saturday 7/20/24
Finally finished the whole thing and I was quite happy with the outcome! I was preparing to edit and needed to do a little digital cleanup and organizing so, of course, I deleted everything I had just created!
This was a great opportunity to learn about and test some recovery software. I was able to recover all four files that I needed but only two of them were usable — the others were corrupted. I did play around with trying to fix them but I was unsuccessful so I decided it was fine, my next filming session would be better quality.
Monday 7/29/24
I decided to take a breather this past week and probably this week as well. This experience has been a great reminder that there’s always a learning curve and bugs to work out whenever trying anything new.
I’m not even slightly discouraged 💙
I’m looking forward to creating and uploading this first video and making this whole YouTube thing a fun and helpful part of my systems and routines.
Here’s the first piece on my YouTube journey. It’s a little long because it dives into my reasons for avoiding this thing I knew would be a necessary part of what I do:
Why Don’t I Just Do It Already?
Part 1 of my YouTube journey, Traipsing through My Shadows
And here are the rest:
Ok, Ok, I’m Doing It!
Part 2 of my YouTube journey, Getting My Butt On YouTube
My YouTube Journey: Testing New Equipment and Finished My Intro!
Part 3 of my YouTube Journey
Weird Creatures, Places, and Facts
I have started to write a series for all the weird and interesting things and I’m having a blast in the process! There are three episodes so far and they’re focused on weird ocean creatures.
Aliens in Our Oceans ep3, 5 Weird Ocean Dwellers
Originally published on August 16, 2024 on Medium.com/@trishhcg
Welcome to the third episode of this series! I’m having so much fun researching these guys and I hope you are as fascinated as I am!
Make sure to check out the sources below for videos and more information. Previous episodes will be linked below as well.
Let’s get into it!
1. Vampire Squid
This creature’s scientific name is Vampyroteuthis infernalis, which translates to “vampire squid from hell.” Oddly enough, this cephalopod is neither a bloodsucker nor a squid! It has the largest eyes of any living animal, proportional to body size, and it lives in parts of the ocean with very little oxygen.
The Vampire Squid is the only known cephalopod that doesn’t eat live prey Instead, this guy mostly eats marine snow. What is marine snow?
“Particles of dead animals, rotting materials, poop, and snot.” According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Institute¹.
2. Basket Star
Basket Stars, or Euryalina, are a suborder of Brittle Stars that have branch-like, long, and curling arms. The Basket Star in the photo was found in an area near Maori Bay, New Zealand, called “Star Wall.” I was not able to find much information specific to this species but there are almost 200 known species in this order.
These intriguing creatures may live up to 35 years in the wild, weigh up to 5 kg (11 lbs). They are the largest ophiuroids in their family with a disk diameter of 14 cm and arm length that can measure up to 70 cm! Make sure you check out the video linked below!
3. Chocolate Drizzle Flatworm
I couldn’t find a ton of information on this specific flatworm but with a name like “Chocolate Drizzle Flatworm” how could I not include it?
Fun fact about flatworms in general, they’re all hermaphroditic. This means they carry both eggs and sperm.
“Instead of courting a mate, it engages in hypodermic impregnation — also known as penis fencing — where it tries to inject sperm into the tissues of a mate while avoiding being poked itself.” ³
4. Siphonophores
There are about 175 species in the Siphonophorae order, including anemones, corals, jellyfish, and Portuguese Man O’War. Siphonophores are colonial, consisting of thousands of clones with different functions.
“One siphonophore starts with a single zooid or “bud”, which replicates itself asexually (meaning they don’t need a partner to reproduce). As the colony grows, different zooids take on different functions to help the colony eat, move and reproduce.” ⁶
Most siphonophores are bioluminescent, usually glowing green or blue but there is one known species that is the first marine invertebrate that glows red!
5. Blue-tailed giant larvacean
The Blue-tailed giant larvacean, or Bathochordaeus mcnutti, is one of the larger species of larvacean but don’t let the picture fool you! These creatures resemble tadpoles and the fancy homes they surround themselves with are made of mucus and cellulose. These homes assist them in filter-feeding, possessing several filters.⁸
Most larvaceans are protandric hermaphrodites which means their sex changes at some point in their life.
“Fertilisation is external. The body wall ruptures during egg release, killing the animal.”
How’s that for a first date?!
Wrapping Up
I’m awed by these creatures and hope you are as well! What was your favorite? What surprised you the most? I think the mucus house on the larvacean was most surprising to me :)
Don’t forget to check out the links below for more information! I will also include the previous episodes.
Aliens in Our Oceans ep1, 5 Weird Ocean Dwellers
Aliens in Our Oceans ep2, 5 Weird Ocean Dwellers
Sources
Vampire Squid, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)(Video and Information)
Basket Star, Wikipedia Page, YouTube Video from MBARI
Chocolate Drizzle Flatworm, MBARI (quoted and includes wallpaper!)
Chocolate Drizzle Flatworm, I also thought you might find this interesting: “Nature is Queer” by MBARI
Thank you so much for spending some time with me! Premium subscribers will receive an additional email with more content :)
Sending so much love to you!
💙Trish