by Susan Lobb Porter | Choices, Food, Life |
Three weeks ago the universe slapped me upside the head with the ultimate AHA! moment.
Universe: “Stop eating sugar. And crap. No more junk food. Or processed food. Except for chocolate. Because every girl needs chocolate.”
Me: “Mmm’kay.”
And I began eating like this… Real food. Nom nom. Stuff that grows in the ground or on trees or in a pasture. Lots of good fats. Nothing that came out of a box from a factory. Imagine that! And no grains. Seriously, no grains.
And no weighing. No measuring either. Just eat when I’m hungry, as much as I want. Which is usually quite a bit.
In the beginning, the first week or so, it sucked. I was cranky and out of sorts and all I wanted to do was sleep and take my arguments to the dark side with Mr. Spouse. But that phase passed before one of us could ask for a divorce and soon enough and an interesting thing happened . . . I realized I was . . . relaxed. She who was once the queen of late night found herself going to bed early, falling asleep right away. Without the adrenalin fuel of sugar and simple carbs, she whose heart and mind were always racing found herself settling into a slow easy rhythm. Things that had once been important weren’t that important anymore. Less time online, more time in the studio.
Settling down in the evening with lapdogs instead of laptop.
These are the changes I’ve seen in three weeks. I’m sure there’ll be more:
- My formerly reptilian skin–and I’m not exaggerating when I say reptilian— is now smooth and soft. I mean before this, moisturizers didn’t do a thing. WOOT!
- The mirror shows weight loss–how much, I don’t know. I don’t weigh myself so I can’t say.
- Cheekbones! I has CHEEKBONES!!!
- Better sleep. Much better. OMG, yes!
- Slower heart rate
- Less anxious. In fact, not anxious at all.
- No desire to waste time on email and facebook
- More quality time in the studio
- A general feeling of well being
I know we’re all different and not everyone would find this way of eating right for them. But it works for me, better than anything I’ve ever tried before. Three weeks into a change of lifestyle I never thought I’d do. Now I see it as the most natural way for me to eat, for me to be.
And it’s a good thing.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this in the comments below. And remember:
by Susan Lobb Porter | Choices, Life, Porterosa |
OK sweetums, yesterday I publicly declared that my focus for the month of February (besides writing and arting, that is) will be the daily de-cluttering of the physical space in which I dwell. Fifteen minutes (no more) a day, with ‘after’ photos. ‘After’ photos that I will explore enhancing with new apps, ever the creative multi-tasker that I am.
If you didn’t read yesterday’s post go read it now. You’ll see that I was flush with victory from completing the 30 Paintings 30 Days challenge and was up for anything. And 15 minutes? (Shrug) After the painting challenge, that’s a piece of cake.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. It still does, actually. Today I found myself wandering around the house, poking at piles of clutter like the wicked witch poking Hansel and Gretel, checking to see who had the most fat on their bones.
But I wasn’t ready to gnaw on the fattest pile, like the master closet or spare bedroom, not so early in the challenge. I settled instead for an appetizer…the coffee table.
If you’ve been reading this blog for the past month when I undertook the ginormous task of learning to make art on the iPad while in the midst of a thirty day painting challenge, you might recall that I made most of the art while on the sofa with my feet stretched out on the coffee table. It was a cushy studio. No wet paint involved but there were plenty of sketches, loose papers, pens, reference photos, magazines and assorted STUFF. Piles of ’em.
So tonight I put it all away. Or threw it away. Then I polished the table. And because I was getting into this this tidying thing I moved over to the sofa and fluffed the cushions. Folded the lap blankets too.
Took all of 15 minutes. Really. And now I’m looking at this lovely, inviting, clutter-free mini zone and finding myself exhaling.
Clearing space, day 1
And I want to keep it that way.
What do you think? Are you doing this with me (waving at ‘cha Kelly!). Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
xo
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Choices, Digital Art, Life |
But habits aren’t just for nuns.
Some reflections: 30 Paintings 30 Days
I did it. I showed up every day for 30 days and let da muse have her way with me. Whether she wanted to or not. Whether I wanted to or not. I showed up and did the work.
And it paid off in more ways than I ever expected.
You need to understand something about me to fully appreciate what I’m about to say. I’m one of those oh-look-at-that-shiny-squirrel kind of people. In other words, I’m easily distracted.
Because I find everything so darn interesting.
But for the last thirty days I’ve been consumed by the f-word. Focus. What I thought was going to be a simple (HA!) daily painting challenge evolved into, well … let’s see:
- I created art every day. EVERY day. That’s what I expected to do.
- But I didn’t expect to know more about my iPad than I did 30 days ago. Well, I guess I did but I didn’t expect to learn so much. Which is a heckuva lot compared to the previous nothing. Ditto when it comes to digital art and procreate, things I thought were A. Only good for slick tacky images. And B. Only done by geeks.
- I painted figures. And the figures evolved and became stories. And the stories are still evolving…
- I blogged every day. EVERY day. Just like the arting.
- Of the thirty images, there are a good dozen that make up a strong body of work. At this time prints are available of all the Women in Red images through my Society 6 store. This will change soon as I go through and edit the images. Some may morph into cards and posters. The best will be held back for limited editions available through my website, which is still under reconstruction because I took a month off to paint. The point is, 30 days ago none of this existed. And now I’m mulling over marketing.
- Every image I created these past 30 days, whether I’m happy with the final result or not, is a potential painting of another sort. I’m eager to get back in the studio and start smooshing paint around. OMG, yes!
Am I done with Women in Red? No, probably not. I see them as an ongoing thing. But not daily, not right now. And not strictly digital.
And now my sweetums, let me tell you about the February challenge. TA-DA, yes, February!!! Because I just now decided that EVERY MONTH THIS YEAR will have a different challenge to kick start a new habit. My creative focus for February is another twofer. January was a twofer, right? Painting every day while learning digital. So every day in February I will devote 15 minutes to de-cluttering a specific area of my house or studio. De-cluttering as in putting things where they belong, even if that means garbage or the thrift store. I will let it go. All of it. And then I’ll photograph the area that’s been cleared. Arty photos of course, showing clear, reflective zenlike surfaces. Very arty because if I’m going to be cleaning I need some inspiration to keep me going.
And I’ll report it all here on the blog because I need to be held accountable. And you’ll want to see the pretty pictures.
What about you? Got a new habit you want to start? As long as it’s legal, somewhat moral and doesn’t involve mayhem you’re welcome to share it here. Looking forward to hearing all about it in the comments below.
xoxo
by Susan Lobb Porter | Choices, Life |
Life has been all hustle bustle in Arty Life land lately. Been bordering on a sense of OVERWHELM with all that’s on my plate. Clearing out Mama’s cottage. Finding space for everything in the studio. Writing. Arting. Learning. Being.
AAAARUGH!
Until this morning. I woke up to filtered gray light and the sound of a steady rain. And then came the delicious realization that it was my day off. And with that came the proverbial fork in the road… I had a choice. OMG!!! I. HAD. A. CHOICE. I could get up and continue the pace that’s driving me into the ground or—
I could spend the morning jumping on the bed, if I wanted. Practice those handspring and cartwheels.
Or better yet, grab the iphone from the side table and start taking pictures.
Because the geometry that is my bedroom, has been my bedroom for nearly twenty years, was suddenly very interesting.
And the drizzly light coming through the curtains was soft and lovely
And there were puppies under the covers. Puppies who wanted me to roll over and grab a few more ZZZZZZZZs.
So. I. Did. Which was a big deal. HUGE. Because I tend to be a burning-the-candle-at-both-ends kinda girl.
Holy crap! I slept in!!!
And when I got up, this is what greeted me. Everything fresh and wet and smelling clean. Life-affirming, life-giving joyful spring rain.
Water everywhere. In the concrete bowl I wrote about here.
On the St. John’s Wort growing wild between the house and the barn.
In puddles along the way.
The ponies wanted room-service this morning. Wanted me to slog through the mud to them.
Not that they hadn’t been out and about before I got there. But why walk over to the fence when Mom will wait on you. Really. Why?
Back at the house there was one more thing I had to do.
Thank the rain for knocking the pollen off the trees. And tell the stuff that was already on the porch I would hose it off soon. But not today.
Because even tho there are things I should do, things I have to do—everything will get done in it’s own good time. Right now I hear a studio calling my name.
