It has been one heck of year and we have all been through a lot. But we have so much to be grateful for. I’m grateful for my family and friends and all of you! Thank you for your love and support, it is so greatly appreciated!
I wish you a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!
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I’m truly enjoying making these watercolor angels. This is my latest, earth angel. I created her in my Strathmore 5.5″ x 8″ watercolor journal. I start by lightly sketching her and then painting with bright fun watercolor paints. While the paints were wet, I added sea salt and let it dry, then I brushed off the salt.
Next I added doodles with my white Posca pen. I also added more detailing and shading with watercolor paints and colored pencils. I couldn’t resist adding a little bling to the stars with Stickles.
The last step was her halo. I wanted more gold so I tried using gold gilding flakes but it was really hard to work with. What I disliked most is it would break down into small particles that would become airborne and you could potentially inhale it. I can’t imagine that would be a good thing, so you really should wear a mask, but the instructions don’t say anything about that. It also sticks to everything so you have to clean your surfaces well after you’re done using it. Bottom line is it looks beautiful but isn’t user friendly. I have one more product I’m going to try on my next one and I’ll let you know how that goes.
I hope she inspires you to create your own magical masterpiece. Thanks for stopping by!
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When I start to feel a little off, I always turn to my essential oils. They’re my first line of defense against colds or flu. Essential oils have wonderful therapeutic properties and help shorten the duration of the illness when used at the first signs of symptoms including itchy eyes, sore throat, cough, sneezing and mild fever or just the general overall feeling of being unwell.
My favorite way to use essential oils when I start to get sick is through steam inhalation in the shower or bath or by using a diffuser. You can rub some blends directly on your skin, however you need to use caution because they can be irritating to some. Also, if you are pregnant you should consult your doctor before using essential oils.
There are many books and online resources for finding oil blends but I recently came across a great book by Stephanie Gerber titled “Essential glow.” Below are a few of her recipes and I encourage you to check out her site at HellowGlow.com
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I loved making the last angel so much that I had to make another one in my Strathmore 5.5″ x 8″ watercolor journal. I lightly sketch her on the paper, and once I liked the design I wet the paper and added bright watercolor paints.
I let the colors flow and mingle on the paper. While the paint was still wet, I added a little sea salt and let it dry. Next I brushed off the sea salt and painted her halo with gold acrylic paint and let it dry. I added lines and doodles with my white Posca pen, and more detailing and shading with watercolor paints and colored pencils. Last for a little bling, I added Stickles.
I hope she inspires you to create your own magical masterpiece. Thanks for stopping by!
Share the Happy!
I wake up groggy like most and go through my morning routine, sometimes half asleep. But before I do any work of any kind, I work my body. I do 30 minute weight training and 30 minute cardio either on the elliptical or outside for a walk, weather permitting. On the days I don’t do my workout, it takes me longer to get going.
My morning workout literally crank starts my engine. It gets my blood flowing and my mind starts to click along. Exercising increases your energy levels too. It also helps you feel better and puts you in a better mood to start your day. Working out tones your muscles and helps build bone density and helps you avoid injuries by maintaining your strength. Plus it helps with weight loss and to get a better night of sleep.
Now I’m not saying you have to workout for an hour a day. For some that’s too much and for others, it’s not enough. You need to create a workout routine that works for you. It doesn’t need to be complicated with lots of equipment. You can do yoga, sit ups, push ups or walk in place to name a few. Make it easy so you’ll do it and stick with it. If you have limitations, there is a lot of information available online for doing modified exercises. Before starting any new exercise routine you should consult with your doctor or health practitioner. Just moving your body for 5 minutes a day will benefit you greatly and make you feel good!
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Five years ago, I was a pretty big meat eater. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. I thought I ate healthy for the most part but as the years rolled by, things slowly started to go wrong. Looking around at everyone else, I thought this is how it’s supposed to be. This is what happens when you get older. But every now and then, I’d see an older person who was not the norm. They looked great, were in shape and had their wits about them. I thought Wow! They must have good genes because they weren’t like everyone else.
Then one day, my kids thought it’d be fun to gross me out by having me watch Food Inc. Great documentary by the way, but it definitely changes your perspective on food. After seeing it, I went even more organic than I already was with my diet and thought I was safe but more problems started showing up like joint pain, weight gain, the never ending cold/flu that would last for 2-3+ weeks when the season would come around, fatigue and head aches to name a few.
The cherry on the cake was when I developed sciatica. This was extremely painful. On a scale of 1 to 10, my pain was at 18. I was bed ridden for 2.5 months. I could barely walk, had to eat standing because I couldn’t sit down. I saw the chiropractor and physical therapist 3-4 times every week with little or no improvement.
I was getting desperate as the pain was unbearable and I’d search the internet on my phone in bed on how to alleviate sciatica. One of the things I found was that meat along with other certain foods, makes the body acidic and worsens the pain. So I decided to go cold turkey, no pun intended, and eat only plant based foods. I had very little appetite because of the excruciating pain and for over 2 months I lived on vegan shakes. Everyday I would have 1 plant based protein shake and 2 raw plant based shakes.
Then a funny thing started to happen. I began improving. The pain lessened and I lost weight! I lost a total of 25 pounds in that 2.5 month period with no exercise at all, just changing my diet. I felt so much better. Then just as I was getting back to my normal self, we were going to be hit by a hurricane which can be a little stressful and I resorted back to my old eating habits of meat, cheese, etc. It only took 2 days, and pain started to return. There was no way I was going back to that! I immediately started eating a vegan diet again and never looked back.
It’s been over 3 years now since I went vegan and all of my symptoms are pretty much gone. The weight stayed off, I rarely have headaches, the joint pain is gone, I have more energy and the fog lifted from my brain. Now when I get a cold, I get very mild symptoms and just feel a little off for about 2 -3 days instead of becoming really sick and feeling miserable for 2-3+ weeks like before.
Being vegan is not for everyone. We are so programmed from birth to eat the meat, dairy products and sugary processed foods that we think we can’t survive without them. But I’m living proof you can. Even if you only replace 1 meal a day with a vegan one, you’ll notice improvements in your body and how your feel. You can also replace dairy with plant based products that taste really good.
I think we all pretty much know how to eat more healthy but choose not to and that’s okay too. But I know for me, I didn’t want to spend the later years of my life in pain or with limited mobility and being stuck with constant doctor visits and lots of prescription medications. I want to enjoy life to the very end with strength, vigor and vitality!
If you want to give it a try but don’t know where to start, Forks Over Knives has a website with lots of information and recipes. They also publish a quarterly magazine full of delicious plant based recipes and success stories to inspire you which can be found in most grocery stores.
So ask yourself, what is it going to take for you to change your diet and eat more healthy?
“Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.” – Hippocrates
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Everyone can use a little cheering up, especially these days. So I’m sharing with you a few thoughtful ways to brighten someone’s day. Again, these are just ideas to help get your creative minds going:
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” LaoTzu
How are can you brighten someone’s day?
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Here’s another idea, give your loved one a morning greeting with their coffee!
Growing up mom always gave us Chamomile tea for anything that ailed us. Whether we had a cold, stomach flu or just feeling blue, there wasn’t anything that a cup of warm Chamomile tea with honey couldn’t fix. I still drink a lot of it today, especially if I’m starting to feel a little sick.
Chamomile works great to relax you at the end of the stressful day. It has also been shown to be antiseptic against bacteria and helps to bring down fevers and relieve achiness due to flu’s. Chamomile is great for relieving nausea, upset stomachs and head aches. These are only a few of the benefits of Chamomile and I hope this helps you get through the cold and flu season a little better this year.
However, a word of caution. Chamomile is considered to be a ragweed and anyone with ragweed allergies should avoid Chamomile altogether.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” Jim Rohn
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I created this witch with colored pencil on a 4″ square piece of mixed media paper last year for an art challenge. Sadly, she didn’t win but she sure was a lot of fun to make so I had to find a way to use her. In my stash I found these fun Halloween cut outs from K & Company and thought they went well together. I really loved that some were accented with sparkly glitter so I didn’t have to add Stickles this time, lol.
I used my 5.5″ x 8″ Strathmore Mixed Media Journal for this layout. I started by coating the pages with white gesso. Once that was dry, I painted the background purple. The darker bottom layer was made using the same purple paint but mixed with black paint. While it was drying I cut a 4.25″ square from black cardstock and mounted the witch drawing. You can draw anything you want on the 4″ square with colored pencils, markers, crayons or whatever strikes your fancy. Just use your imagination and think spooky!
Next I used Ranger Black Soot to distress the edges. I picked the Halloween cut outs I wanted to use and glued them along with the witch to the pages. Next I used a little silver paint for shimmering shadows. Last I added more shading with a dark gray Stabilo pencil and that was it!
Hope you enjoy making your spooky layout. Thanks for stopping by!
Share the Happy!!!
Supplies Used:
Researchers have found that smiling, evokes a feeling of happiness and has many positive effects on our overall wellbeing. On my morning walks I’ve encountered many people on the road especially these days. But to my surprise, a lot of them were, well, grump misers. I would smile and give them a nice “Good Morning” a few would respond but a lot would just grunt and keep going.
My parents always told me stories of how I was the happiest baby, always laughing and smiling and I still am. Truth be told, it just makes you feel good. Sure, life isn’t perfect and things go wrong for all of us, but it comes down to what are you going to do with that curve ball life just threw your way. Are you going to be miserable or are you going to make the best of it and find something to smile about. Personally I prefer to find that silver lining in the cloud.
With all these morning grump misers, I thought I can’t let them be this unhappy, because happiness and positive energy is contagious. So I upped my game. I started giving everyone a big smile with a resounding “Good Morning!” And if that didn’t work, the next time I’d add in a twinkling little wave along with my big smile and greeting. I was determined to share the happy!
Funny thing started to happen, even the grumpiest people would get happy when they saw me coming their way. The happiness and positive energy has been so contagious, that they are now, seeking me out for that “Good Morning” smile and it’s just really nice to know that your smile and positive energy has the power to brighten someone else’s day.
We have unusual circumstances these days where many of us are in environments where we have to wear masks a lot but you can still see a smile in a person’s eyes and you feel the positive energy radiating from them. So don’t use that as an excuse not to smile and share the happy. Imagine how different the world could be if more people would share a smile and positive energy.
Who did you share your smile with today?
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” Thich Nhat Hanh
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Flowing Waters Art 