Orangewillow

Ok, Ok, so its not exactly January 1st but at least I finally got around to writing this post. I have been working on getting my large format printing ready but its not working the way I want it to. I have another bombshell girl ready to go but my new large format printer does not print the color exactly right. It has double the ink cartridges to what I am used to so perhaps its user error. Hopefully I will get the kinks worked out soon.

I had a very tame new year, Mexican food with Tammy and then chilling on the couch until midnight. Every year I go out and this year I just wanted something quiet and relaxing. It was exactly that which helped me wake up rested and ready for the new year. Of course then January 1st was somewhat of a lazy day as well. Yesterday however things got kicked into gear. I cleaned out bags of clothes I never wear and focused on getting organized. Though I need much more organizing it felt like a good start. Shipping was taken care of, lots of emails I was behind on, a nice day of chores and healthy eating.

Today I feel great too. Its amazing when you eat better how much better you feel. I switched to eating wheat grain breads and cut back on my dairy. I had some yummy hummus with a garlic flavor. Two nights ago I made a honey ginger mahi mahi which turned out super yummy and then last night I made a pasta toss with turkey in it and boy was it delicious. Now I have leftovers for some lunches this week and I am excited to make something new tonight, maybe a chick pea curry or perhaps a vegetable lo mein. We will have to see what mood strikes me. If you want to try some of these recipes they can be found at tasty planner under my chef profile, Wendy Allegree. The site is great, free, and just getting started. Its really fun to help get it up and running. The designers are always making updates to make it even more fabulous. Try it out. I love the planner and grocery list feature. It helped me plan my entire week and then I was able to pull the shopping list up on my iphone.

I put up some new ink drawings of animals I have been getting requests for but as far as the oil paintings things had slowed down and then suddenly last night inspiration hit. As I layed down to sleep I had a fabulous idea for about ten different paintings. They are very involved and will take research, sketches, and a lot of time but they are about something that has always mattered a lot to me and not something many modern artists paint about. I don’t want to give any surprises away but I am pretty excited.

So then I fell fast asleep and I had an insanely vivid dream. It was amazing, I was no part of the dream, just viewing it like a movie, that has never happened to me to this extent. Anyways I dreamed an entire story from begining to almost the very end. It was a little dark and creepy and somewhat reminded me of a Stephen King novel but pretty freaking awesome. Now I feel obligated to write this story down and share it. When I will have time to do this I am unsure but I will at least scribble some notes so I don’t forget anything. I just think its so crazy that so much inspiration can hit you so quickly. I know this sounds crazy but I think it has to do with diet. When you pour fatty foods that are jam packed with preservatives into your body I think it makes you lethargic and also inhibits brain activity due to the lack of energy. It just seems like quite a coincidence to eat right for two days and then find I have crazy energy as well as increased creativity. Before I would eat right one meal and then poorly the next, my body didn’t know which way was up. I would highly recommend trying a preservative free diet if you are feeling stifled and see what it does for you.

Heres some important people in my life:

A Pretty Fabulous dad that I am lucky I still have with me

An inspirational mother who helps me be the best mom I can be and who showed me that with dedication I can lead a happier and healthier life.

An amazing daughter who surprises me everyday.  Sometimes she can be a handful but she keeps me on m toes and makes me grateful for choices in my life.

This year has been an amazing one!  I am living my dreams, I have spiritual clarity, I have important people in my life who care for me and who I care for deeply.  I want to give a special thank you to my parents for loving me despite my shortcomings, to Mark and Tammy for being such good friends, and to Josh for being there anytime I need to just complain about stupid silly stuff and also for being so supportive of me following my dreams, you following your dreams really helped inspire me.  If everyone in the world had the amazing people I have in their own life I think it would be a much happier place.  2008 has exciting possibilities and its a journey I am thrilled to explore.

I hope you all had a happy new year and wish you all a fantastic 2008.