Day two on Raw Food Diet

I felt very satisfied all day yesterday. I never really got hungry and came in 300 calories under my daily goal. Today I need to add more calories and protein. The research I did tells me to really monitor the protein, calcium and not to let your calories drop too much. You really do have to eat a high volume of food on this diet to get all your basic requirements in. I did not crave sweets at all which is unlike me. I think it may be because of the sweet fruits you are eating all day. This is a great time of year to do this. I wonder how hard it would be when all these wonderful fruits are no longer in season.

I had trouble going to sleep and staying asleep last night. I felt so charged up at one point, I almost went ahead and got up....but I looked at the clock, it was only 2:30!! I lay there for quite awhile until I feel back to sleep.

So far the only complaint I have is the sleep thing and the gas! I hope that subsides with time. They say it will.

I went mountain biking today and tried to ride my usual mileage, but my legs were burning more than normal and I felt wasted. May have been lack of recovery from yesterday's ride.

Breakfast - A large bowl of banana, black berries and pineapple.
coffee

Lunch - Steamed peas, wild rice and a banana.
water

Dinner - A large green salad with chopped apple, pear and cranberries, vinegarette dressing, 1 cup of brown rice and red beans, water.

Snack - Handful of trail mix, water.

Supplements - 500 mgs. Calcium, 3000 units of Fish oil.

After I posted all my food to the calorie tracker, I still came in 350 cal. under my daily requirement. This is like volumetrics, you have to eat a ton of food!

Beginning of Raw Food Diet

Day One.

I'm not really sure how long I will do this. I may like it so much I stay on it for a while. We will see. I really started weaning myself into it over the weekend. I ate only raw foods for breakfast and lunch on Sat and Sun. then had a lite dinner with only a small portion of chicken with huge salad. I feel great today, mentally and seemed to have more energy at spin class today as well.

I read on a few websites that you have to eat a lot of food on this to get enough nutrients and feel satisfied. So far I have just nibbled on fruits, nuts and veggies and really have not been hungry. It was very hard for me not to have bread this morning. Tom made some toast and it smelled so good. I did not give in. I have not given up coffee yet either. That is just too many changes all at once.

Breakfast - 2 bananas and 1/2 cup of cubed pineapple.

Lunch - huge mixed green salad with cran-raisins, nuts, seeds, tomatoes, cucumbers. I made a vinaigrette dressing for it & water.

Snack - 1/4 cup trail mix, water

Dinner - 2 cups lightly steamed veggies, 2 cups white rice & water

Snack - 1/2 cup fresh cherries

Stay tuned.

Art Clay Textures With Photopolymer Plates

What a weekend!

I just got in from a three day intensive class at John C. Campbell Folk School. We had a great group of gals from all over the Southeast. The class was taught by Pam East who has been teaching students how to create with metal clay for several years. Once fired in a kiln the clay becomes .999 pure silver.

This class was all about learning to create unusual textures by making your own texture plates using photopolymer. The sky is the limit with this process.

The plates I chose to make were pretty detailed and I was concerned about how they would turn out, but Pam eased my concerns. Because of her expertise, she had a pretty good idea of how they would look. Tell me what you think.





















The campus is just beautiful. It is nestled in the mountains of North Carolina, near Murphy. I live just 30 minutes away but some folks come from far away and sign up a year in advance for some of the classes. If you have ever contemplated taking a class there, just do it! You will come away with great memories and forever friends.

Lightening Strikes and Exploding Transformers Oh My!

We have had an interesting few weeks around here, to say the least and North Georgia has had its share of wild weather lately. A few weeks ago we had a direct lightening strike to our a/c unit and went several days without air. Thank goodness a cold front moved in and cooled things off. The TVs wouldn't work, the computers were acting up. It seemed anything electronic was effected somehow.

Then, just as I thought things were getting back to normal and the cat moved back home, as I was watching the morning news and having a cup of coffee yesterday, I heard three loud explosions nearby! The power flickered off and on....then went off for good. Well, you guessed it, we lost phone service and all the computers are discombobulated again! I had a fun day on hold with TDS trying to get service.

If you have never gone through this....it can be quite entertaining. First they tell you to run all around the house and unplug every phone, wait 30 seconds and plug them all back in. If that does not work....please"hold for a technician". When I finally got a human on the line, she actually said "I am having trouble hearing you due to the static on the line. Is that the reason for your call?" Well, I just could not resist so I told her that I am completely happy with everything and was calling for a quote on "bundle" pricing! She didn't get it.

I think tonight we have a phone service again and seem to be able to get online but.......has anyone seen Leo?

15% Off Memorial Day Sale for Followers!

Now is the time to get that item you have been wanting. I am offering a 15% off special Memorial Day discount today, through tomorrow- Monday at 6pm EST.

It's easy, just place your item in your cart, proceed to checkout and leave me a "buyers note" that you are a follower on my blog or Twitter and I will credit the 15% back to your account. Please don't forget to leave the buyers note or I won't know to give you the discount! Happy Shopping!

Link: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7208192

Results of the Faux Gaspeite tutorial

Thanks Polka Dot Creations!

I just put the finishing touches on my faux gaspeite bracelet. Mine came out very different than the one in the tutorial. I used different beads and drilled them from the side not lengthwise. It was a fun project and I'd like to thank Jenny Cox of Polka Dot Creations for sharing it with us. It was really easy to follow and fun. They have a bunch of great inspirations on that site. Check it out: http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/article.php?id=pdcjc01

I had a few stones left over so I made a ring too. The ring part is made of twisted sterling wire which I ran through the bead/stone. It is very comfortable and eye catching!

I'm not one to wear matchy matchy things, but these two do look nice on together. Leave me a comment, let me know what you think. If they don't sell at the festival this weekend, they will go on my etsy site. Thanks for looking.

Fan base is growing fast!

Locally: Tom and I went to dinner last night at our favorite local place. I was sporting a few of my handmade pieces of jewelry. I wore the toffee bracelet, ring of fire and the copper spike pendant. I got so many compliments and gave out so many cards! It sure feels good when that happens.

Online: I have been keeping watch with Goggle Analytics on my hits from Twitter, Facebook and Blog. There is a place at the bottom where you can view a report of where your hits originate. It is very interesting to see who is sending you business. I have been receiving hits from sellers on Etsy. It's sort of a I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine type thing. I promote them and they in turn send folks to me. I always send a nice thank you back too. Never let those things go unnoticed.

I have lots to do today to get ready for the Art Festival this weekend. I am finishing several bracelets today to sell. I'll keep you posted on how well I did.

I can pee standing up?

Well here it is folks, the one and only time I get published in the papers and it is about my new ability to pee while standing. It's called a Go-Girl. These really are great for outdoorsy girls. The only qualms I have about it are what to do with it after I use it. More trash in the landfill? I think I will stick with the old method. If you like, I will let you read the article for more about it. http://www.thestate.com/health/story/765309.html

Twitter is working!

Well, take the case and leave the pillow! This Twitter thing is finally working. I actually saw a good jump in activity on all my sites yesterday by using http://google.com/analytics. How cool is that. Everywhere I go folks are talking about Twitter this and Twitter that. Even Oprah!

At first I didn't think I was going to like it. I was not understanding how it worked at all. So, I purchased a how to Twitter book on Amazon and read all of Timothy Adam's tips, then I realized all the mistakes I was making. Yes, it could be a little more user friendly in the beginning, but I could have read the help section too. That is what I recommend to all newbies.......read the tutorial in the help section! Don't give up.

It's true this whole thing is way undervalued and underestimated!

Follow me.........twitter.com/allowingart See you there!

So Many Strawberries!

If anyone has a good recipe for jam, please share! It seems like the plants double every year! I planted only 3 plants on a small hillside. Now they cover 1/4 acre after only 3 years! I am going to have to do some thinning in the fall so we can reach all those berries.

Last year we picked almost 50 lbs and tried to make jam, but it never got jelled so I gave out strawberry syrup for Christmas! It tasted great, just runny. I added extra pectin but still no good. I will try again this year and add even more. Maybe I will do a reduction and simmer off some of the liquid.

Well, I better get my muck boot on and get out there before the birds get them.

Rings of Fire!

I just added some new pieces to my Etsy page check it out!

These pieces are made up of Kato copper metallic clay and I used gold leafing to add interesting layers. The pendant is wire wrapped with copper and hangs from a 22 inch copper chain.

This black, white and red combo looks like ceramic tile, but it is all polymer clay.

All can be purchaced at http://www.allowingartdesigns.etsy.com/ Thanks for looking!

It's all over the house!!

The pollen is all over the place. I woke up this morning with it weaving a web on the screen porch almost like it is going to take over! Well regardless, I'm taking a sinus pill and going to ride my HOG today! It is going to be beautiful! No rain for once.

I will catch up in the studio tomorrow. Stay tuned, I am almost ready to upload my new black, white and red jewelry line on www.allowingartdesigns.etsy.com

follow AllowingArt at http://twitter.com

Whew, I am tired tonight. I finally got most of my creations photographed and uploaded to Etsy. I re-did a few of the old ones as well hoping to get more traffic. I purchased an Etsy Success ebook which gave me lots of great ideas. So many that my head is swimming a bit. I am loving all the creative flow after years of dealing with a block. Now onto dreamland. Nite!