30 Paintings in 30 Days...

A new challenge! Doing 30 paintings in 30 days sounded overwhelming at first. I had images of painting 30 canvases! But the main rule of the challenge is that "there are no rules"! So, an ATC counts as a painting. Hey, I'm doing that anyway. So, here are my paintings for day #1 and #2.

And other random swaps...

The Unicorn Inchies swap...

 and the God's Word Bible Verse swap.

 These two were individual swaps. One gal wanted a cow and another asked for a coyote.

Still sort of staying on the paleo diet. I'm adding in some bread just because I don't like the sloshy feeling in my stomach when just eating fruit, veggies and meat. :p I'm also going to look into finding some organic flour to make my own bread. I'm assuming organic flour isn't made from GMO seed? I have some learnin' to do! I would rather bake my own bread if it's healthier. A friend at the ATC site pointed out that modern seed is so hybridized that it has as much glucose as sugar. At least I think that's what she meant. You can find her comment on the previous post. I'm also allowing myself a dab of sugar and creamer so I can have the occasional cup of coffee. You need a hot drink in the winter, man! With tea I'll use honey. Anyway, I'm trying to do MOST of what the paleo diet says. I had a great omelette for breakfast with onion and spinach in it. Yum!
Oh! Almost forgot! Sully learned to roll over yesterday! :)

 Yup, this was the actual documentation of the first roll!

 The new Christmas pajamas...

You folks stay warm and dream big dreams for the new year! Shalom! :)

Paleo and exercise

Here I go with my all-or-nothing ways! I purged my pantry of non-paleo foods and began a new way of eating day before yesterday. Eek! If any of you know of any terrible drawbacks to this eating lifestyle, speak now. I've read a couple of short books with recipes, so I'm not an expert.

I wasn't crazy about this first book. The recipes were very complicated and required so many things I don't have around the house. I know I will have to acquire more herbs and spices and "unusual" ingredients as I go along, but I need a plan that doesn't depend on me buying them all at once!

 This book was much more user friendly. She actually gives you lists of foods that are okay to eat, and you can make copies and take them along to the store. Her recipes are also simpler, though still challenging for someone like me who really doesn't enjoy cooking. But, I may learn to! To start out I'm just eating the "plain" foods on her lists; not worrying about recipes. I did try her Egg Cup recipe this morning and it was good. The main emphasis is on leafy green vegetables, moderate amounts of meat, smaller amounts of fruit and some nuts and seeds. No calorie counting. I LOVE that you can have BACON!

 I've used this book many times over the years. I actually only use a few pages in the back which show the "maintenance" exercises. These are to counteract the aches and pains of muscles and joints from aging. It's really just a few yoga moves. I may move on to a yoga workout as I get more fit.

 My step-daughter gave me a bunch of videos by this lady MANY years ago. This is the only one I kept. It's 30 minutes long and is equivalent to a brisk 2-mile walk. You also use hand weights, so your upper body gets a workout as well. I think I'll alternate between the exercises in the book above and the cardio workout in the video for now. This 30 minute workout was challenging for me! Today was the first day I've exercised in ages, and I'm really out of shape!

And THAT is why I'm doing this. I'm getting tired of looking in the mirror and seeing myself getting flabbier and more tired. Now that I'm working only a few days a month I REALLY need to get out of my chair and move, and I need to eat better.

My dad and his brothers all had diabetes as they got older, so cutting out sugar seems like a no-brainer. The paleo diet also cuts out grains and dairy. I know I've always had a low-grade allergy to dairy, with the phlegm that produces. And with all the gluten intolerance we hear about, I suppose cutting out grain might not be so bad, though this is the one area I'm not so convinced about. The diet proponents talk about it being the "caveman diet". So, we're going back to the hunter-gatherer way of eating. Hmmm... Seems like we've been growing grains since the time of Cain and Abel, so why is it so bad? Anyway, this way of eating is far superior to my usual diet of coffee, cookies, chocolate and comfort foods. I had a headache for the first two days of the diet, but woke up headache free this morning. That's caused by withdrawal from sugar and carbs. I hope I can stick with this or at least some version of healthy eating. I want to be as strong and healthy as I can in my "golden years"! Wish me luck!!

And now for some Bible time! God bless you all and much shalom!