Winter Pagan Fitness Challenge

I am so happy that Serenity Raven has decided to host a Winter Pagan Fitness Challenge. I am a week late in signing up but that is OK. This is one fitness challenge that I believe focuses on the right things! I'll post more about this later as I catch up :)

2013 Resolutions, Goals and Priorities

I try not to make too many resolutions for the start of the year; I prefer to think of them as goals instead. As a witch my New Year actually begins at Samhain but I like the start of the calendar year as another time to re-focus on things I want to do with my life. It is fun to join with so many people across the country and plan. There is so much positive energy at this time of year as people turn their thoughts to making positive changes in their lives. Imagine if just 10% of those hoped for changes became reality!  I believe that the world would be a better place for all if people started to make progress on their New Year resolutions!

This year my list is small,

1)      I plan on incorporating a Yoga class into my current fitness routine. I currently go to the gym at least 3 times per week and will be finding a beginner Yoga class that I can attend. I’ll also continue on with Weight Watchers and I hope to lose those last 25 pounds but I’ll be happy with another 10!

2)      I will set aside 1 week a month to work on magical items for my Etsy shop as well as any other projects that I want to do. This will be scheduled, guilt free, me time!

3)      I will continue to set aside time to hang out with my family & friends, make time for fun activities and find ways to let my friends and family know how much they mean to me.

4)      I will learn more about the spiritual side of the craft and strengthen my knowledge base in this area. I love to learn.

Here is one of my favorite quotes for the New Year...

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.

~Ellen Goodman

That is what I will be working on this year.   How about you?

A Frosty Morning

This morning there was a layer of snow covering the ground when I work up. I love the silence that accompanies the snow. I had to step out and take a couple of pictures and just be a part of that silence. The above picture is of the Pin Oak tree that is in my front yard. It is a lovely tree all year but it is hauntingly beautiful after it sheds its leaves.

After spending a quite moment alone in the silence of the snow I went back inside and then out the back door with my sweet little pups following me. I took some pictures of the trees in our yard and watched as Sophie and her sister Alice ran joyously through the fresh power. This is Sophie, she has one goal in life and that is to play ball! The dirty orange thing at the bottom of the picture is her octopus toy, one that she has had since she was a puppy (she is 5 now). After taking a couple of pictures I played with Sophie and then came in to the sounds of my family slowly waking up on this lovely winter morning.

Truly a magnificent way to start the day

2012 Year in Review

Wowsa what a year! In 2012 I visited Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, St. Petersburg and Panama City,  Florida, I’ve been on business trips, birthday trips and let’s get out of town trips.  I spent time with my family, my friends and myself and through it all I’ve managed to slowly get my art into my top 3 priorities and will have my Etsy shop re-stocked (and better stocked) by the first of February, AND, thankfully, the apocalypse didn't happen - again.

This year I took time every month to spend with my amazing friends who collectively form an artists’ group that meets once a month. We work on projects, eat delicious foods and chat, I am usually happy to just hang out and talk which is something that I need. I love being able to just sit with my friends and spend time, no commitments, no stress, just time with the girls. This year we also featured our collective work at a juried art fair. It was nice, I managed to sell of piece of my work and since we plan on doing the same show again, I have a full year to plan and create for the festival next year.

On the health front I am down 10 pounds from January 1, 2012 – yippee! I am working out consistently 3 days a week and I feel great! This year I decided that it was time to re-adjust how I looked at weight loss and my health. Rather than my normal All or Nothing approach (I am an Aries through and through) I decided that I had to make lifestyle changes that would fit into my life and then stick to them, even when I completely fail. So when I gained lots of weight during the business trip to Florida, I came home, squeezed back into my clothes and got back into the good habits that I have been working on all year. I am sure, had I not been enjoying all of the dinners and lunches with friends, the magnificent wine with my significant other and the occasional chocolate indulgence, I could have lost the other 25 pounds that I need to lose to reach a healthy weight but what I have found is that I really like the life I have and I would rather take it slow and enjoy the times with those who mean the most to me than focus on losing weight quickly. What has helped is this, a little quote I read somewhere: “The Best Part of the Meal is the Conversation”, how cool is that. I’ve tried to remember that when I am out with friends and the focus seems to be on the food. Sometimes it works and sometimes, well, let’s just say that I am happy with the slow and steady progress I am making!

Magically I have never been busier. I am working on some spell bottles and amulets for the shop as well as Altar cloths and ritual baskets. Because these have to be done during certain moon phases and on specific days in order to be the best they can be I do not always have the ones that I want to in stock. This year I am setting aside 1 week a month to create exactly what I need. It is amazing how much better I feel when I am focusing on my magical and spiritual side.  For the first time in a very, very long time I feel comfortable in my own skin. Some of that comes with being at the Crone phase of my life, some of it comes from the lessons I have learned the past few years, regardless, I am loving life right now!

I have lots of great things planned next year. I’ll be sharing more projects complete with “How-To” directions, recipes, spells, and more.

Next up… 2013 Resolutions, Goals & Priorities

Autumnwind

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

To those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope  you have a lovely day!

Autumnwind

Happy Yule

I wish you all a wonderful Yule.

BB

Autumnwind



Yarnigras Ornament Swap has Arrived!

This year I was pleased to take part in Yarnigras handmade ornament swap. You can see the ornaments I sent here.

Here are the ornaments that I received in the swap.

The one below was wrapped so nicely I didn't want to open it... but I am glad I did!

And to make the swap even better I received a fun thank you gift, just for swapping!

Wow! I can't wait to hand all of these lovely ornaments on my tree. Thank you to everyone who participated and especially a huge Thank you to Val at Yarnigras for hosting such an awesome swap!

The 2012 Yule Tree

This year the annual trek to get our Yule tree occurred just after Thanksgiving and, thankfully, before any snow had fallen in the valley.

I love having a real tree for Yule. We cut our tree from a designated tree cutting area, following the specific standards outlined by the Forestry Service. Each year we select a tree that we can honor during our celebration and in doing so we also make the habitat better for the trees still there.

This year we found a beautiful pine, not too big, not too small. I searched for quite some time before I found just the right one. I always know when I’ve found our tree because when I see it, it’s like “Oh, there you are! Let’s go home”.

While we have had some stunning trees, occasionally, the tree that I know is ours is not quite the epitome of beauty. And on those occasions, my family has looked at me as though I have lost my mind, though they always cut down the tree I find and more often than not they have to carry it up a hill to the truck.

Once our tree comes home we take care of it, be sure it has plenty of water and then when we have as many of the kids home as possible we decorate it for the season.  After the holiday we save part of the tree for firewood and recycle the rest. Our tree will end up being used as mulch in one of the local parks.

This year the kids are flying in on the 18^th, so our tree is patiently waiting for its holiday clothes. I like to sit in that room, near the tree and read, it is so peaceful and smells like the forest; mysterious,  clean and… magical!

Once she is all decked out in her holiday finery I'll share a picture of this year's tree

Homemade Marshmallows

This year I am giving my coworkers little hot chocolate mugs. They are quick and easy, fairly inexpensive and just about everyone likes hot chocolate. To add a little something extra I made marshmallows. I googled recipes and found several that I liked.

Marshmallows are easy to make though they do take some time to cool. Once you get them in the pan they need to sit for at least 6 hours though preferably over night.

Here are some pictures of the process

The recipe I found called for unflavored gelatin, light corn syrup, granulated sugar, water and vanilla.

To keep the marshmallows white you are supposed to use clear vanilla. I could only find imitation vanilla that was clear. Then we found powered vanilla. It was a natural vanilla product which was white so I took a chance and bought it. I made a batch of marshmallows with each type of vanilla and amazingly there was no difference in taste or color - so either product works for this recipe. When using the powered vanilla you use the same amount you would use in liquid form - easy peasy!

To get started you combine most of the ingredients and cook them to the "soft ball" stage on a candy thermometer. Once that is done you pour this incredibly hot mixture into a metal bowl and beat it with a mixer until it doubles in volume.

Pour into a pan which has been covered with aluminum foil and then coated with butter. Then you cover it and let it sit.

When the marshmallow is ready you can cut it into square blocks or use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Either way you decide to cut them you will need to coat your cutting implement with cooking spray.

These were really sticky when transferring from bowl to pan but the next day they were not as sticky as I thought they would be. I chose a snowman cookie cutter and was really pleased with the results. I'll be bagging these in individual holiday bags and tucking them into the mugs of coco resulting in an easy, inexpensive, yet personal gift.

Since I had such great luck making regular marshmallows I had to step it up a bit. The next batch I made was flavored with Banana Vanilla Rum I  got when I was in the Caribbean last year. The flavor is outstanding though I was too impatient and did not mix them long enough so they were flat. I'll be making a new batch of those later today.

The key to the Rum flavored marshmallows is this: instead of adding water to the gelatin you add rum. My recipe called for 1/2 cup of water to 3 packets of gelatin, I substituted 1/2 cup of rum for the water. Yum.

Here is a link to the recipe I used: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Homemade-Marshmallows-2

A couple of tips:

If your home is on the cool side you probably don't need to beat the mix for 15 minutes, I only needed to let it mix for 13 minutes, then my mixer started to protest!

Butter the spatula you use to spread the mixture into the pan

My marshmallows were not sticky enough to hold the toppings like the picture in the recipe, however, I live in a very dry climate, you results may be different.

Try adding different flavors to the gelatin, the rum is good. I've also heard of people making Irish Cream flavored marshmallows.

Keep in mind that you are not cooking off the alcohol when you add it to the mix, while some of it will burn off due tot he high heat of the mix you can not be sure how much is left so I would not recommend serving these to children :)

My Heart is Breaking

Listening to the news today, about the senseless tragedy that has occurred in Connecticut has made me realize, once again, that life is too short, too unpredictable to take for granted. I can't even begin to imagine the pain that community, those families are going through. My heart breaks for them. I can only offer heartfelt prayer and send love and strength.

With a heavy heart,

Autumnwind

Busy End of the Year

This time of the year is usually so busy I forget to enjoy it. Not this  year, after my disastrous October, I have made sure that I am not only in the moment, I am enjoying and experiencing each moment of the season. I have so much going on right now, I am busy from the time I wake up (4:00 am to work out - ouch) until I drop into bed at 10:00 or 11:00 and it is all because I am surrounded by family and friends that I love. So while I may be extra super busy I am also extra super lucky to be this busy.

I have holiday parties that I have been attending, gifts and cards that I have been making, a baby shower to attend this week and a baby blanket that I finished embroidering last night. My house is almost finished being decorated and I have some yummy treats to bake. Add to that, my middle son and his lovely girlfriend will be arriving next week for the holiday and I am in full holiday mode.

What I have found is that since I have decided to enjoy the craziness, I am less stressed, getting more done and generally just loving this season. I will not let my crazy schedule get in the way of celebrating the wonder of life again. I hope you all are enjoying the traditions and joys of this season with those you love.

I'll be posting some pictures of the gifts I have been working on and the great tree hunt adventure this week.

Have a great day!

All Done!

Here it is. I am so pleased with it!!!

Don’t you just love it when a project comes together exactly as you pictured it? That is how this top worked for me. I had some glitches along the way - the curtain shirt template was a tad tight so I made a larger size in this one – oops, that didn’t work out so well – I had to alter it by taking in 1.5 inches on each side so that it fit me and now it fits beautifully.

Since I had such luck with the shirt I got out the Santa suit to try it on and found that I had to take in the pants. A Lot! They have been altered and everything now fits like it is supposed to.

I am all ready for next weekend!

In the Studio

I am back in my studio this week but this time I am working on a costume for the Reno Santa Pub Crawl. This year they expect to have about 7000 (yes, seven thousand) Santa’s roaming the downtown Reno area.  I will be one of them!

I love to sew and when I sew, since I am a punk rocker at heart, I often sew to really loud music.  My guy laughs when he hears me sewing to Nine Inch Nails or Rise Against. Sewing is a completely different outlet for me than sculpting. When I am sculpting I tend to listen to more melodic music, Telesma and Wendy Rule top that list, but when the sewing machine is running, fast passed, loud, guttural music just makes me happy.

 I have a Santa Suit, it’s cute but this year I needed to step it up so I am making a cute little camisole to go under the jacket. Dancing in a full Santa suit gets hot, this way I can take the jacket off and still be “in costume”.

Here is the Santa suit I currently have – this was a couple of years ago and it was lots of fun!

Here is the pattern I am using to make the shirt

This is my Scarlett O’Hara curtain shirt to test for size – I didn’t use curtains to make it, I used left over fabric from the curtains I made for my kitchen J so it is kind of a curtain shirt.

Here are the trimmings. The shirt matches the suit and will have the same white furry trim. Additionally it will have a black leatherette belt with that cool diamond shaped button in the center instead of a buckle.

 I hope to have it done this weekend so I can make any changes that need to be made before the 15^th.

I'll post pictures of the final shirt once it is finished.

The Bewitching Home Blog Party - Winter Redux

I just signed up for the Bewitching Home Blog Party - Winter Redux being hosted by The Witch of Howling Creek. This is a lovely winter Blog Party focusing on domestic witchery in all its glory.

I was admittedly a total slacker for the fall version of this and I will be making up for that this time! Check back on February 2, 2013 for a view of some of the simple witchery that enriches my life.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.  I had 2 of my kiddos home for the holiday along with my good friend and her family. We’ve been spending Thanksgiving together for about 10 years now and it is one of my favorite days.

This year I felt so much more prepared. After the whirlwind of my October I decided that I was not going to let the holidays and the traditions that matter to me slide by again. So I decorated my house, made pumpkin bread and whole cranberry sauce, even a crust-less pumpkin pie (it is much better than it sounds!) and most of all I enjoyed the holiday with my family and friends. It was awesome!

Today I am packing up the autumn decorations and starting to decorate for Yule.  Next up… the search for the perfect Yule tree. Check back soon for some pictures of my tree cutting adventure.

In the Studio Update: One Down, One to Go

Much progress has been made this week! Here are a couple of pictures of my Woodland Elf

I have a couple of tiny details to add and he is complete!

Next up: Woodland Fairy.

Stay tuned for more pictures!

Thankful Journey

I have seen a lot of people writing about things they are thankful for. Each day they list something and will do so for the entire month of November. I like the idea, I think it is nice to recognize things to be thankful for rather than focus on things you want.

While I am not able to post daily, I'd like to post a couple of things that I am thankful for:

The Goddess - my spiritual journey has been tied to the Goddess for as long as I can remember. I find strength through the path that I have chosen and know that it is the right one for me.

My family - without their support and love I would not be able to be the person that I am nor would I be willing to stretch my creativity in the many ways that I have. They watch me as I grow as an artist, as an athlete, as a friend and more they engage in what I do. My boyfriend and children often come in to the studio to see "What strange thing Mom is working on"; they share their ideas and let me bounce ideas off of them. They support me as I create, as I explore, as I try and especially when I fail.

My friends - wow, where do I start? I have the most amazing friends. A while back I went through some pretty dramatic, life altering things and when I came out the other side of that dark time the friends that were standing with me were the best there are, full of love and strength, supporting me when I need them and leaning on me when needed. The people I count as friends are amazing. While they may not always understand or even approve of something that I do they will be there to support me or tell me I am a dumb ass, but they don't judge, they don't lie and they don't talk about each other or me. They tell it to me straight, they laugh, they love and they create. I am stronger for having them as my friends and my life is so much richer because they are in it!

Lastly, right now, I am so thankful for my art, my ability to create and share some of the things inside my head. I am thankful that I have the ability to create and the time, energy and space to delve into the many mediums that I work in.

To my family and friends, to the Goddess and creativity, thank you! My life would be empty without you.

In the Studio - Progress

This weekend I managed to get quite a bit done on the two pieces I am working on for the Arts Festival. They need to be costumed and ready to go by next Sunday.

The bodies are made from aluminum wire. To simulate bones I tape wooden dowels to the wire in the position of the upper and lower leg and the upper arm. This keeps them from bending at weird angles.  Once the “bones” are on I then wrap the bodies with strips of wool batting to flesh them out and add the “muscles”. The final phase of the body work is to add a body suit skin. This is my least favorite step but it really holds the muscles in place and allows you to add more padding to the bottom and breast as needed.

Here they are with the armatures in place. As you can see the fairy has an added area of clay on her back. This back piece will support her wings which will be removable for shipping and storage.

Here are some of the hands that I created. I always make a bunch and then match them up as necessary, usually I end up with 2 amazing left hands so then I go back and sculpt a couple more right hands. Eventually I end up with a pair that works. For feet I generally sculpt boots or shoes and cover them with decorative fabric or thin leather.

As I stated previously, the heads have been complete for a while. Here they are with bodies, bones and muscles – finally. Let me tell you, they were both VERY happy to be able to stand on their own feet!

So here is where I am now. I need to flesh out the fairy a bit more and then I have one more body stocking to sew in place. Next step is hair and costumes! Yippee!

I’ll post more progress pictures as I can.



In the Studio

This weekend I am finishing an elf and a woodland fairy for the Gray Eagle Fine Arts Festival. My polymer clay group has a booth there (this is the first time polymer clay will be featured at this juried show) and I really would like to have a couple of finished pieces in it!

I have the heads sculpted, they have been done for over a year, in fact I am pretty sure I have posted pictures of them here before, and this weekend I hope to finish them.

My elf is a sweet little guy with a freckled face and a strong jaw. He’ll be sporting a jingle belled hat and wearing earthy themed clothes, I have some crushed green velvet type material but he scoffed at it!

The woodland fairy is a companion to him. She is a feisty little thing with deep green eyes and a hint of a smile. She also scoffed at the velvet. We’ll see what she thinks as I dress her. She will be getting a wreath headdress full of berries and ribbons and filmy wings to match - maybe.

Here are some of the supplies I have laid out. Today I’ll be sculpting hands and feet and fleshing out their bodies. These sculptures have soft bodies which cover a poseable wire armature and the I hand sculpt the head, hands and feet. Their costumes are designed and made by me as well. These are truly one of a kind! I have only parted with a couple of my pieces. For a while it was because they just were not good enough to give away, seriously, only a mother could love my earlier work, but I have since given or traded a few but always with someone I feel confident will care for them well.

When you put your heart into a figure, something that you have breathed life into from a simple block of clay, you really want their new family to love them as much as you do. As I venture into the market of selling my work I realize that this may not always be the case. With this show, I may just have to put a steep price tag on these little guys until I am ready to take that chance…

I’ll let you know how it goes and post some progress pictures along the way

Fitness Update

St. Pete's Beach Florida

When I get stressed, overly tired or out-of-sorts, I think of the beach and last month I spent a lot of time thinking about sandy shores and clear blue water. Even though the Fitness Challenge has been cancelled, I am working hard to get healthy and fit. After coming to the realization last month that my diet is directly related to how I function on a day to day basis I have tried to step it up when it comes to my health.

Until recently I was half-assing it with the healthy habits. I do work out 3 - 4 times per week and I was mostly eating healthy but I wasn't balanced. Since I am hypoglycemic that is not good enough. This has been brought home to me in a rather irritating way. If I eat in unhealthy ways, if I skip a nutritious breakfast or if I load up on junk or fast food, my ability to think dwindles and my ability to create - gone! Nothing like the Goddess to give me a swift kick and tell me to get it together or be a scatterbrained, uninspired, nut - hmmmm, I think I'll eat better!

I've lived with hypoglycemia for most of my adult life. I never had too many problems, if I forget to eat I end up in lala land but since my family recognizes the signs they usually remind me to eat(I have been informed that I am very much like the "Horseless Headman" in the Snickers candy commercial - when I don't eat). Unfortunately, making sure I eat is no longer enough, now I have to eat things that are good for me! Fortunately, there are a lot of good, tasty foods that are also healthy.

So, with that wake up call still ringing in my head I have cut my diet Coke consumption to 1 a day and am slowly weaning myself off of it. I no longer eat artificial sweetener and water has become my friend.

This lifestyle change isn't easy. Sometimes I would really rather have fast food but it just isn't worth it. I refuse to spend the rest of my life, how ever long or short it will be, in a daze because I chose not to eat healthy.

So there is my health rant/update for the week.

Zombies In Storybook Land Swap

Here is the doll I created for the Zombies in Storybook Land swap. My partner liked Little Red Riding Hood, among others, and since I immediately thought of Red carrying a basket full of wolf parts I HAD to make her.

And here is a close-up of her basket

I had such a great time with this project. Such, gruesome fun!

This swap has definitely inspired me to make more Storybook themed zombies. The next one will be little Bo Peep and her Zombie sheep.

I'll post pictures once I get her started - which I anticipate to be sometime after the holiday season.

Yarni Gras! Annual Ornament Swap

One of the things I was able to accomplish this weekend was to complete the ornaments for Yarni Gras! Annual Ornament Swap. Here is the glitter Santa ornament I made. These ornaments are stunning in person. They are a deep rich red and they shimmer in the light. They are fairly simple (though messy) to make. What you'll need:

·         Red ink - I used Stampin' Up!'s Real Red re-inker

·         Fine cut iridescent glitter (I used Stampin' Up!'s Dazzling Diamonds)

·         Flat Christmas Ornament (available at most craft and Hobby stores)

·         Black grosgrain ribbon

·         Glitter paper

·         Rubber Gloves

·         Funnel

·         Tiny cups (to drain excess ink and glitter into)

1) Carefully remove silver ornament cap and set aside.

2) Pour approximately 20 - 25 drops of ink into the ornament.

3) Slowly rotate ornament to coat inside with ink. Do not shake.

4) Once inside is completely coated, drain excess ink into small paper cup.

5) Place funnel into the ornament top then pour some glitter into the ornament.

6) Cover top of ornament with gloved finger and shake to coat inside of ornament with glitter

7) Dump excess glitter into another small cup

8) Let dry and then put cap back on the ornament.

9) Glue black grosgrain ribbon around center or ornament.

10) Cut buckle shape from glitter cardstock and glue onto ribbon

11) Tie bow around ornament cap

12) Enjoy

If you are making several of these you can re-use the excess ink and glitter. Just keep pouring it into the same cups until you have enough to use.

Of course every Santa needs his reindeer so I also made a silly candy cane reindeer to go with each Santa. I have great memories of making these deer out of real candy canes with my kids when they were young and when I saw these plastic candy canes I had to get them!

If you haven't checked out Yarni Gras! blog yet you really should. She hosts some fantastic swaps.

Enjoy!

Autumnwind

An Entire Month has Gone by Since I Last Posted!

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Wow! I didn't realize that the month of October could be so busy, and not necessarily in a good way. I had planned on having a nice, relaxing month, really focus on the holiday, my favorite holiday! Unfortunately that just didn't happen.

What this past month has made me realize is that I need to stop the madness and focus on what is really important. My family, my friends, my art, this blog, you know, the things that make me happy.

I am sad that I missed two blog parties that I joined. I will be posting some of the things I had created for them later on this month.

I missed reading about what everyone is doing. This week is the first time I have truly been in my studio and working since September. I have had starts and stops, some great ideas but I have been too scattered to actually focus on anything until this weekend.

Once of the good things to come out of this month - I realized that there is a direct correlation to my diet (the food I eat, not a weight loss plan) and how I function on a day to day basis - yeah, I know - DUH! Anyway, the healthier the food I eat and the more balanced a diet I get; the better I am able to think and create.

So I am back and it feels really good to be here! I  hope to catch up with everyone this month.

Autumnwind

SkinnyTaste.com

One of the best websites I have found for healthy, flavorful recipes is skinnytaste.com.

Created by Gina Homolka, this website is full of beautiful pictures, tons of recipes, step by step directions and can be searched by food type, by Weight Watcher values and more. There is a recipe box tool that allows you to save your favorite recipes in one place right on her site or you can print them in .pdf version.

Another way to follow Gina is on pinterest. You can link to her pinterest boards through her website.

So far, every recipe I have tried has been delicious and my family loves when I am making one of her recipes!

Enjoy!

Fall into Fitness Challenge Goals

I am a little late to the game but here it goes:

My Elemental goals

Earth: I plan on focusing on eating a balanced, natural food diet. I want to eliminate some of the processed foods that I eat. This will be a gradual and ongoing process

Air: I will be adding Yoga into my exercise routine on a regular basis. Yoga is great for the mind as well as the body and I believe this will be a great benefit for me, helping me to lessen the effects of everyday stresses as well as strengthen my muscles.

Fire: I plan on earning 150 broom points - minimum! I try to get to the gym between 3 and 4 mornings each week and work out for about an hour each time. In addition to this I will be working on my Etsy Shop as well as my other artistic endeavors, Art is my passion and that is something I will be focusing more on in the coming months.

Water: I will be upping the amount of water I drink and eliminate that darn Diet Coke. I know it is full of chemicals, I know it is not the best drink for my body so I will be saying goodbye to my longtime favorite beverage so that I can improve my health - I believe it will be totally worth it!

Spirit: Achieving the above will nurture my mind, body and soul. Meditating on my goals, working towards them and achieving them is what I consider my holistic approach to this challenge, encompassing all of the elements in my goal to be healthy and fit.

In addition to the above elemental goals I have another, measurable goal, I would like to lose about 8 pounds by the end of November. I believe in losing weight in a slow, steady and healthy way.

As you know if you read my blog regularly I am a current, sort of practicing, member of Weight Watchers. I have been slowly focusing on this program in a more serious way and am starting to see progress on the weight loss front. Weight Watchers is not a diet, it is a way of life, a healthy way to look at food and exercise that you can actually live with regardless of the lifestyle you have. I refuse to eat diet food. If it isn't full of flavor what is the point? Check back tomorrow for one of my favorite online healthy recipe sites.

Fall into Fitness Challenge 2012

I am so happy that Serenity Raven of Get off Your Broom is hosting the Fall into Fitness Challenge. Her challenges have always been thoughtful and focused on total health and fitness rather than on just losing weight!! I am a late joiner but am looking forward to the challenge.  This time the challenge will be focusing on the elements. Click on the picture above or the link to the right to get more information on this fantastic fitness challenge.

My Zombie Doll has Arrived

My Zombies in Storybook Land swap doll has arrived and all I can say is - I’m not worthy J. She is amazing. My swap partner chose to create Cinderella in Zombie form and since I have no words that are adequate enough here are some pictures:

The Box

Cinderella Zombie - She's holding her leg!! How cool is that!

Fantastic, Amazing, beautiful!!

The whole package of goodies I received!!

That cool little box in the back is full of gummy fingers and chocolates!

Coolest Journal EVER!

Thank you to my amazing swap partner Sarah of Sarahella After Midnight for a stunning doll and an amazing box of goodies!!

Tomorrow I will share with you the Little Red Riding Hood Zombie I sent to Sarah.