HOUSECLEANING...

So, I've decided to do something about the aches and pains that are becoming a daily occurrence. What am I doing? A 3-week detox/cleanse using the CLEAN program. Google it if you want to know more. There is also a great book you can buy (Clean) that will explain the entire reasoning behind the design of this.

 http://www.cleanprogram.com/

I did it for the first time a couple of years ago. It was a struggle, I must admit. This time around, I'm finding it fairly easy to do. I'm on day 6 right now. I'm feeling better everyday. I have great expectations that this cleanse/detox with added exercise will help me to get into better shape and to rid me of some of the problems beginning to pop up with my body.

The reality is I'm not 25 anymore and haven't been for many, many years. :) I'm creating my future reality right now. Bad choices make for bad health and that's not how I want to live. 

Although the program comes with bells and whistles and stuff you can buy to make it easier, I'm not doing that. At it's simplest: liquid breakfast and dinner, solid lunch. 12 hours between your dinner meal and breakfast the next day to allow for effective detoxifying to happen. There are lots of food you don't eat while you're on the cleanse and lots of food you do eat. There's so much more to it than just this but these are the basics. Read the book if you want to know more. 

I'm excited to be doing this very good thing for my body. I finish week one tomorrow. Wooooo-Hoooooo!   Look at me go!! :) 

Exciting times...

A Bird in the Hand.... is priceless!

This little lovely hit my balcony door.   
I raced out to see if it was okay.

I laid him first on his back in the palm of my hand and just watched him breathe for a few minutes.  I was sure they were going to be his last breaths...

His eyes opened and we stared at each other. 

I gently turned him over and he stood in the palm of my hand..

We watched each other for a very long time. 

I carried him inside to get my camera so 

I could take some pics with my free hand.

I stroked his little head and his feathers. 

And was ready to prep a little box with a tissue bed 

so that Shay could come and care for him when she returned.

But he shocked me by fluttering up into the air where he hovered for several seconds, flapping his little wings wildly, and then he flew away! 

IT WAS BREATHTAKING AND AWESOME! 

What a moment!

New on MuralVisions... SUNRISE...

 SUNRISE

There are as many ways to paint and interpret a sunrise as there are artists on the planet. This is just one version of mine. The colors and textures light up the room and make me smile - especially on cloudy, rainy days... Who couldn't use a little more sunshine in their day?

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MuralVisions

 

Once again... THUMP! 

And there lying on its back on my balcony is a 

beautiful little yellow bird with a fuzzy black cap. 

I rushed out and picked it up - hoping it wasn't dead. 

It wasn't. 

I thought it would die within moments. 

It didn't. 

So, I sat out there with this little bird in the palm of my hand 

and we just stared at each other. 

I stroked its little head and wings and there it sat. 

For about 15 minutes.. 

there we were. 

I called Shay to let her know we had another bird for her to take care of and then, 

all of a sudden, 

it fluttered into the air, 

flapped its wings wildly and hovered like a hummingbird - 

and then it flew off into a big tree. 

THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!!! 

I'm going to buy some reflective things to put on my windows so the birds will stop hitting them and dying. 

It's a good day!

New on MuralVisions... Birth of an Island...

BIRTH OF AN ISLAND

 Imagine floating high above a vast sea...You look down and see a blazing splash of color. The water is broiling, bubbling; the earth deep beneath the waves is vibrating, shaking; and the labor pains of a massive underwater volcano are giving birth to a brand new island - undiscovered, uncharted, uninhabited... Waiting.... for you?

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/MuralVisions

Hiding....

Lately, I am sad. Just so sad... seems like just about everything breaks my heart.

 ..the little sparrow that hit my window and died.
...the elderly couple who live two floors below me who are exhausted with living and ready to die.
...the homeless guy with his shopping carts full of stuff and his dog who wander my neighborhood.
...the news
...the world we live in now
...the way people are acting in the world we live in now.

It all just makes me so bloody sad. 

And it's so easy to hide sad. I can talk with people on the street - laugh and chat - and then walk away - sad.

I can post funny shit on facebook and then walk away - sad.

I can sing at rehearsal and love the music and then walk away - sad.

I can text and use smiley faces, and winking faces and say all the right things and no one ever suspects that I'm crying and just so fucking sad.

Sigh....

New on MuralVisions... Maskarama!!!

Prohibition Era 'Cocktail' Series

It’s the 1930’s. In America, the sale of liquor is prohibited but not its consumption. Gangsters like Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel take control and ‘speakeasy bars’ (where you had to ‘speak easy’ so you didn’t attract attention in the joint) open everywhere.

Hooch is officially off the menu but the enthusiasm for simple, potent and amusing drinks runs high. Bartenders are the stars of their neighborhoods. And although no one is supposed to be drinking, small-sized cocktails that pack a punch are being created and consumed with relish!

My newest series of masks are named after classic, prohibition era cocktails that have stood the test of time.

CORPSE REVIVER 

NEW ORLEANS FIZZ

 JERSEY FLASHLIGHT

 

  CHICAGO FIZZ

 

 HANKY PANKY

 

 WHISPERS OF THE FROST