And WIPs

WIP=Work In Progress

800 Calories A Day

I get to eat unlimited amounts of green vegetables, small portions of fruit and lean meat.

I've already lost 10lbs this last month, five more to go. Right now I am craving pizza...hahaha!!! I gained 15lbs this winter because I drank too much coffee with cream and ate too many of my home-baked cookies during the holidays. I gain weight easily and have to maintain a low weight because my joints and back cannot carry anything higher than 145lbs without pain. I learned to manage the conditioned I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, keeping my weight below 145lbs keeps my joints and back healthy. I also walk 4 miles and day and practice yoga, a bendable body is a young body. Intermittent fasting, avoiding sugar, and taking my last meal and coffee before 5pm I avoid migraines. I have been migraine free for the last two months.

Next Months Writing Project

My husband and I have been researching long dead schools in Buddhism for years. One of the reasons why I wanted to marry my husband was because I coveted his library of books on philosophy and religion. We were best friends sharing our Buddhist info and debating long before I finally got the courage to ask him out on a date. Lucky for me he said yes, and we found out best friends also make the best life partners.

We are putting together a series of articles that go through the evolution of the Buddhist religion and the schools that evolved, become extinct, and survived. The research and notes have been finished, and we will be writing articles this week. My past Buddhist articles were written by me and edited by my husband. This series we are co-writing and editing along with some good debates about what should and shouldn't be added to each article. There is so much information, it's hard to figure out what to include without becoming too scholarly for people to enjoy.

Butterfly Gel-Pen Series

11 x 14 inches, black drawing paper, Gelly Roll gel-pens

I will be trying another technique using lines rather than cross-hatch and fill in the color. Hopefully, I can stick to my plan, I found that I tend to go back to the techniques I am most comfortable with. That is not what I am looking for when trying a new medium. I want to challenge myself to continue to grow my skill set. No challenge or good stress my mind will turn to mush, I can feel it happening when I get complacent. Same goes for the body, it needs good stress from exercise to remember to stay in shape!

A Country Cottage and Garden

22 x 30 inch cold press, 300lb cotton watercolor paper

This is a big watercolor piece that will take at least a month, 30 days, 4 hours a day to finish. I struggle with perceptive as you can see with the tile on the roof. Don't worry I will fix it before I start laying down the paint. I love painting gardens, and I suck at drawing houses. Since I enjoy painting nature, this will keep me working as I struggle trying to figure out how to get my roof tile to lay down correctly. I know how to do a perceptive drawing, but I have issues with my left and right, and I have no clue where north and south are, I get lost easily. My husband can find north without any problems, which is irritating to me, but it comes in handy for him, he works with digital maps.

I found several photographs online that I liked and combine the two to make one painting. I wanted to create a painting you see hanging in peoples living room. I found a style I like along with the colors from a site online that shares free computer desktop pictures. This is how I usually put a painting together, I have an idea about the technique and the subject I want to paint. I look for pictures that will help me flesh out my idea, and I combine the ideas and images into something that pleases my eyes. Hopefully, other people will like my idea too!

I won't include so many butterflies and flowers, too over the top cute for me, but I love the idea. I am going to paint my cat Cleo sitting on top of the frontyard fence.