[i] LoveLife

On it + building.

Luck was my lady yesterday. Unexpectedly, I got a whole day of time to work on a new painting, tackle another agency job and clean up my studio. That felt VERY good. I'm getting ready for April. New month. New new. Right? NEXT MONTH is totally being UNAPOLOGETIC + owning the awesome. Oh, and being FIERCE (but that was a given). I'm spending most of my time OFFLINE lately and it's GOOD FOR MY SOUL. I popped into the art store for a new brush and came away with 23 new canvasses, a basket full for new paint and three dozen happy brushes - just WAITING to make marks.

I AM:

• taking advantage of this ferocious attitude. 
• so excited to make these raw food easter cream eggs (I can't wait!!)
• jazzed about seeing Being Elmo - I love that guy!
• making the best of things
• so excited that you can substitute apple sauce for eggs when baking!
• really looking forward to seeing my family in 1 week
• OWNING the AWESOME.

Today: I'm drinking coffee because I'm serious about productivity today. I have some personal goals to accomplish AND THAT WILL EARN ME a glass of wine tonight. I earned it.

GO!

Horseshoes + clovers.

Everyone knows that being lucky is simply hard work and a little magic. And attitude. And maybe being in the right place at the righ time. And having an aura of awesome. And a lucky pair of gitch. And a four leaf clover under your pillow. And a horseshoe up your... That's my theory anyways. I've been channeling my 'lucky ace' around here and and the extra creative energy is inspiring me to make some decor changes. Yay. Feels like we were speeding along in our renovation and then things ground to a halt. Spring. Change. Bloom. I feel a wee bit inspired and I think that's good news. I feel lucky. Lucky to be here. Lucky to have a rad new easel to work with. Lucky to have three wee ladies that make me laugh. Lucky to have two beasts that love us even when I forget to feed them breakfast (sorry Normie!). Lucky to have great friends. Lucky to have fabulous family. Lucky to have a love like Dan. Lucky to have a comfy bed and a full fridge.

So. LUCKY.

Thanks for the tips on the inflammation + diet. Great links + great info. I hope it doesn't sound like I bypassed traditional medicine completely. I started there + am waiting for the referrals + appointments. In the mean time - I am exploring 'bigger picture' avenues for anti-inflammation and general health. Has the elimination diet helped? ABSOLUTELY. My guts feel better than I EVER remember feeling. That's a good start.)

Today: If I'm really lucky - I'll have some extra painting time and a big ol' salad, too.

GO!

Sunlight.

:( Bad news on allergy tests means more eliminations and a more complicated and intense diet. No anti-inflammatory foods AND no more eggs, bananas, OR YEAST. *Sigh* I am certain I can tackle this, but it is starting to feel a little ridiculous. At the end of this tunnel - if it turns out that all of the pain is the result of a simple virus and I have spent a good number of days + months dedicating this much brain + willpower to insanity...

I will lose my mind.

Today: I'm not going to think about it. I'm just going to eat celery and carrots. I'm going to hang with my girl tribe and see what I can do about keeping my face to the sun and finding some laugh-therapy. (Please let there be sun today!)

GO!

Listening.

There was painting yesterday. Which was amazing. My new easel is fantastic. Except that it's clean + pretty and as much as I love that - it's not going to be perfect until it's roughed up. Not broken, but proven. I didn't plan to paint elk, but that's what appeared and I'm not going to argue.

I'm just going to listen.

(And I'm going to finish this one and two more this week.)

Today: More paint, please. I love painting so much. Sometimes I forget that and WHAT A SHAME THAT IS because when the paint is right and the brush feel good and the light is nice - it's like being on top of the world. It realy is. Today I have a naturopath appointment to learn the results of the allergy tests and to talk about the progress of this diet and where we go from here. To the top of the world, I say.

GO!

Still trying.

This is my mantra now. I get through one day and then try again the next. I'm 5 weeks in to an anti-inflammatory/elimination diet to attempt to combat an onset of severe joint pain in my hands, feet + knees. My digestive system is feeling better than I ever remember - but my hands are not.  I think they are getting worse. I've been on a restricted diet for 5 weeks in hopes of getting the inflammation under control without the use of harsh prescription drugs. I'm being hardcore about it because I sure as heck don't mind making changes if there is a chance it might make me feel better. Every night I think, "maybe it will feel better tomorrow," so I keep going.

People have asked (and written me kind, hopeful notes - thank you!): my inflammation/elimination diet will hopefully, hopefully, hopefully stop whatever is causing my body to be reactively swollen + painful. This diet is no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, no red meat, no citrus, no alcohol, no tomatoes AND I'M NOT SUGGESTING THESE THINGS ARE UNHEALTHY FOR YOU - I'm just trying to find out what's right for me. I'm supplementing this with an insane amount of concentrated fish oils and other vitamins. I'm not an expert. I've read as much info as I can find and I'm exploring alternate medicines because, quite frankly, I think traditional medicine is missing the big picture here and is too quick to prescribe drugs (none of which work as well as a steady flow of ulcer-causing Advil). I want to find the cause and not just treat the symptoms. I'm trying what my naturopath has suggested because I've read and researched. And I figure DOING SOMETHING HAS GOTTA BE BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING. I've been referred to a rheumatologist (for my swollen, painful hands, wrists, knees and ankles) and over six more months that will go by before my appointment.

In the mean time. I am not eating anything processed. Or with gluten (which is a trickier than just avoiding bread). Or dairy. Or sugar. Or red meat. Or alcohol. Or citrus. Or tomatoes. It's definitely not a social diet and it makes me uncomfortable to dine in public because I feel overwhelmed. And like a walking buzzkill. And desperate to make it work.

CHEATERS NEVER WIN. I will own up to cheating (on purpose) two times. Once with a gluten free, dairy, free oreo-like cookie (it had sugar). It was AMAZING and could only have been better if it was washed down with wine (kidding). And for my second cheat (encouraged by the success of the first) I ate one Girl Guide cookie. Which (to my surprise) earned me a blinding headache within minutes and an incredibly upset stomach for the next couple of days. LESSON. LEARNED.

RECIPE. This is so delicious. A gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free take on Puffed Wheat Cake* (which have been my favourite dessert for 30 years... and have always made me sick). *Also called Puffed Wheat Squares.

*

Puffed Rice Cake

Organic puffed rice (gluten-free certified)
Organic coconut oil
Local honey
Vanilla (gluten-free)
Salt
Organic cocoa powder

I'm not all that technical but I think it works for this recipe. Mix a little less than a quarter cup of coconut oil, a cup of honey, 3 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder in a saucepan. And because honey is so darn sweet add a pinch of salt. Bring to a rolling boil. The longer you boil this mixture the firmer your puffed rice cake should be. I boiled it for about 3 minutes (could have been about 3 minutes longer). Remove from heat and add a splash of vanilla. It will bubble furiously and be totally awesome. Mix in about 6 cups of puffed rice. I like it when it's really gooey so my 6 cups of puffed rice is more like 5. Add more puffed rice if it's too gooey. Add less if you want it more gooey.

Press into a greased pan (I used coconut oil) and put it in the fridge for about half an hour. Cut into squares.

*

That's it. SO delicious. SO satisfying. Not rocket science. It's SO GUILT FREE you can eat the whole pan like I did. I can't guarantee it will cure inflammation or heart ache or homesickness or anything else like that, but it tastes mighty good and will get you by in a pinch.

Today: I have a painting sitting on my BRAND NEW EASEL. I had an easel made JUST FOR ME by a craftsman in BC. It's gorgeous reclaimed wood, but there's one thing missing: A MESSY SMATTERING OF PAINT. SO I'm on it. With coffee.

Hello hopeful Monday. GO!

Happier.

Friday! There are a couple of new things in my ARTSHOP today. It's a mash up. There's colour - and that's what hope looks like. I swear. These pieces are an exercise to help me transition to a newer style that I hope to have ready for a couple of upcoming events this spring. In the spirit of Tiny Art these pieces are small originals. Unlike Tiny Art - I will not be offering prints. So. If you want it - get it.

Changing the way I do things around here is like turning a tall ship. It's seems slow, but it's happening and I like the new direction already.

*POWER OF POSITIVE event. Oooops. I let that out of the bag before I was allowed to. Silly me. Their sites and registrations are NOT open yet. It's in Winnipeg in about a month. And since I've already spilled the beans I will tell you a little more: 5 speakers, tons of goodness, the option to turn it into a girls-nite with dinner, wine, brunch, and YOGA. Sweet getaway. AND if you were interested - you can opt in to a little ART CLASS (Positivity Art Journalling - Bulletproof Positive Attitude style) with me. Yes. Space is limited and I have NO IDEA when registration opens. But, soon.

Today: FRIDAY. I started a new painting and it's complicated and pretty. And out of season - which is a little bit weird, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT - I feel like it's kosher with the way 2012 is going down. SO. BE. IT. I'm going to live it up with non-alcoholic margeritas tonight. Yes, I know that basically a smoothly, but a girl can dream. ;)

GO!

Fierce Move NO.04

I've postponed my April art show. I've been struggling to see this as a fierce move and it's hard. It feels like failure. Here's the deal: I don't have enough energy to battle the stress of a show on top of the stress of an mystery illness on top the the brain power required for a restricted diet on top of a busy tribe on top of a husbands's busy season. On top of scarily sore hands. I just don't. So rather than kill myself with a perfect storm of expectations - I'm bowing out. Which really feels like admitting defeat... but it's not. It's saving energy for the battles that need fighting.

Someone wise once told me that saying NO to something is saying YES to something else.

I'm recording my fierce moves of 2012 - when they happen. Why? Because I forget. And when I forget about stuff like that I start to leak courage. I forget that I've got it in me. I've tried gratitude + inspiraton journals and let me tell you THEY WORK. They cultivate gratitude + inspiration like a grow-op. SO. Every once in a while I might share a FIERCE MOVE here so I remember that I am very capable of being fierce.

Are you fierce, too? Share some fierce moves of your own...

Today: I have some art to photograph and some big changes to make over at LINKwithlove. Yes. Coffee, please.

GO!

Mixed up.

My brain kind of looks like this these days. It's messy. And mixed up. And kind of crazy. But, super cool.

Up+coming:

• I'm speaking at the Power of Positive event on April 28/12 - it looks like it's going to be super and I think you should come.
• I have been asked to do a secret + awesome painting for unveiling on April 19/12 - I can't wait to share!
• I love coconut - I can't get enough
• I'm a special guest at a twitter chat called #PINCHAT this Friday night to talk about Pinterest - should be interesting.
• I cheated last night by having no gluten, no dairy cookies (I'm supposed to be no sugar, too).
• The new LINKwithlove keytags should be here soon. If you missed getting one last time - get yours fast on the next go around.

Today: it's a girl tribe day and we are going to collect the things we need to make some cute spring themed crafts. And other random goodness. Like coffee.

GO!

 

They.

[ Photos by Rachael King Johnson. ]

They are three of the best surprises.
They are in my dreams and my prayers.
They are so uniquely themselves it blows my mind.
They are written on my arm + forever in my heart.
They are LOUD + hilarious.
They are forging relationships amongst + between themselves.
They are very sweet (when they are not being very mischievous).
They are the best gifts I have ever been loaned.
They are growing too fast.

And they are pretty stinking adorable.

*

Our neighbour, Rachael (of luckygirl wedding photography), is responsible for these amazing shots. In fact, I'm also going to blame her for making me cry yesterday when she casually emailed me these photos. Because suddenly, I am painfully aware of these three ladies and their perfectly-captured characters. I am painfully aware of how much I have not been living in the moment these days AND I AM MISSING IT. Suddenly, I am achingly grateful. For the girls. For the days. For the laughter. For our neighbours. For right now.

Thank you for the photos. Rachael, it's like you wrapped up a slice of the-best-parts-of-this-life and tied it with a bow. Thank you for catching our moments. (Love you. xoxo)

Best. Gift. Ever. If anyone tells you there is no value to fantastic photographers + photographs... punch them. Seriously.

*

Today: Another adventure in healing! Along with my sore paws, I have been having a wee little problem with my back. I am off to see the best physio/pilates person in the city for this kind of predicament and it's so important to me that I could use any extra good vibes that are kicking around. And in return - there will be some new stuff in my ARTSHOP on Friday. ;) Coffee.

GO!

Hats off.

The bizarre spring temperatures this weekend had me packing up our toques + scarves for lighter fare. (OH, DON'T WORRY. I'm pretty sure that by doing that I have tempted the Gods and we will have a humdinger of a snow storm in April. That's okay with me!) Dan agreed with the toddlers that it was officially summer so they were ripping around in barefeet and short sleeves. I, on the other hand, am the one who has to look after them all (YES, even YOU Dan!) when they are sick and miserable so I was racing after everyone like a giant BUZZ KILL with sweaters + socks. It's MARCH for heaven's sake! We are usually still under a foot of snow.

The sunshine was incredibly lovely though.

My sweet new hat shows a bit of script work that I did for a fundraiser. Check it out and snatch up one of these adorable hats (or the shirts, too!) - proceeds go to a good cause. $18 including shipping. Good prices and great hat. (*MOM if you are reading this - don't order one because I might have ordered you one already.)

*

Hope is a magical colour.

Today: I am FINALLY done the elk. He's signed! He's going to a new home in a fancy new house out way out West where the cowboys roam. As soon as the light is right - I'll photograph him so I can pack him up and get him onto the new leg of his journey. His fierceness has convinced me to get out another canvas. Who knows what will come of that. It's Monday. I'm hopeful.

GO!