Changes should be followed by progress, right?!

  Welcome to my s~A(R)T~urday linky party – today:  Changes & Progress

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.

~ Andy Warhol ~

Y
es, they should! And they are – I think – slowly making progress. I initiated changes as promised in my previous post last Saturday. I started with tidying the kitchen. i.e. getting rid of stuff populating counter spaces where it doesn’t belong. Just because something gets used once a week does not mean that it may live out in the open every day. Off into the cabinet you go – toaster oven.

  • When there is cluttered counter-top space – I don’t want to cook.
  • When my email inbox is about to explode – I don’t want to write or photo edit.
  • And when my creative corner is buried in supplies – I don’t want to paint.

Cluttered spaces have this inhibiting effect on me. Do you know what I am talking about? I don’t think I am alone with this.

Seems to me that I have had this forever. And I mean ‘forever’. I can remember this one scene, my dad and I were on vacation together in Denmark. Having just had lunch we were standing in the kitchen, sorting dishes and he asked ‘if we wanted to go for walk on the beach to see if we could find some amber‘ to which I replied – ‘sure, but I first need to finish here in the kitchen‘.

Please don’t ask me why this particular scene stuck in my head for over 25 years, I don’t know. Back then I didn’t think of myself as being particularly tidy. Heck, I know for sure that I still am not.

So, why did I first have to finish a.k.a. cleaning and tidying the kitchen?

  • Maybe I didn’t want the fish bones to smell through the whole house when we returned from the nice sea breeze.
  • Or maybe I didn’t want the bones and left overs to get stuck like a crust on the plates.
  • Or maybe, you know, deep down, I didn’t want to go for a walk on the beach
    • – hahaha – I know, fat chance of that!

Seriously though, I like to think that I wanted to finish the task I was working on first; to give a fresh and clean start to everything that was to follow. Having a clean kitchen equaled a clean mind to enjoy the walk on the beach with my dad. Although, funnily enough, I do not remember this particular walk on the beach with him, yet many others.

This behavior back then is actually in a way exactly what I am doing now. I am cleansing my body, to be able to enjoy more what is to come.

Sounds a little spiritual, huh? Yeah, I thought so. Well, who knows, maybe that is my path, too, I don’t know. For now I am quite happy with what I am doing at this point.

So, what am I doing? Right now it is a body cleanse by eradicating all foods that I may potentially be sensitive to, e.g. gluten and dairy, or possibly had eaten too much of in today’s normal diet, think about sugar for example. Look up Whole30 or Paleo and you will quickly find what I am talking about. Since Monday I have been cutting out carbs, sugar, dairy, soy, legumes to name a few and it has been less challenging than I thought. Of course, I happen to love salad and veggies and they have been a big part of my diet all the time. However, part my previous ‘diet’ was also wine with dinner or our weekly cocktail night with cheese crackers. That, my dear readers, is a whole different story. A no no at least for the next two weeks, well, maybe I’ll extend it to the 30 days, I don’t know yet.

This far I feel great. I know, it has not even been a week, so I won’t call anything a success (or defeat) yet. But some of my observations of this week are that I slept a lot and had a bit more energy and was less ‘moody’. Of course, any or all of this may have also to do with the fact that work-work for once was not as stressful as usual. I don’t know, but I am keeping a close eye on changes and progress and I am writing it in my journal, remember – DayOne.

Still, I readily admit that I am definitely missing my glass of red wine at night. And I am also pretty sure that I will be missing our weekend breakfast English muffins. But it’s o.k. I can do this. And, who would have thought, my husband is actually joining me 90 % of the time. I didn’t ask him to, he volunteered. Thanks for the support, David!

Anyway, that’s it from the food / body front for today.

As far as my virtual life goes, I have started ‘unsubscribing’ and thus decluttering my inbox(es). I am still reading and commenting on blogs, but not writing here, except for – now. I also started working on my iPhone. Yup, a phone needs to be decluttered, too (nothing is safe in this household anymore!). Have you ever looked at how many apps you have on yours? I did. And I wished I hadn’t. 164 is my current count, what is yours? Time for some tidying, me thinks.

On the art front, I almost don’t want to share what I painted. But I figured we’re friends here, right? So… I have been doing a lot of sketching every evening of the week a little. Just practicing. Sketching faces, hands and figures in different poses. David says I am making a lot of progress, but he is a little biased. I don’t think those sketches are ready for the world to see. But the illustrations below – aren’t those cute kitties? I wanted them a little stylized, kind of the cat I drew here, plus of course the added watercolor. But the first one looks a bit like a gremlin, no? I liked the gremlins movie. Have you seen it?

So, that was my week, pretty much. Now tell (or show) me about yours. And don’t forget to enjoy the weekend. Bike riding season is starting!

Much love,

claudia3

 

 

cat, illustration, watercolor

 

cat, illustration, watercolor

 

 



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21 thoughts on “Changes should be followed by progress, right?!”

  1. Nice to see you around again Claudia, love those sweet kitties. Know what you mean with clutter in the kitchen, I can only enter mine with blinkers at the moment! Happy PPF/S/S/M/T etc, hugs, Valerie

    Reply
  2. Oh my gosh! You have outdone yourself! *wink* I really love these, Claudia. You are so talented and your art is always relatable. I think that is important to a lot of people. If art becomes too abstract, I think it loses connectivity. Your art and this meme draw people in, rather than shutting them out. I love that about you. You welcome even wordsmiths like me. Thanks. Hug.

    Reply
  3. Those kitties are so cute! I am glad you are feeling better. Amazing how much our diet really does influence our day to day lives. How many apps to I have? Hmm…. aside from the two camera and ghost hunting app I downloaded, just what came already on the phone, and which I never ever use.

    Reply
    • I am really, really amazed how different I feel through this diet change. Since it has only been such a short time I am kind of reluctant to give all credit to it i.e. it might ‘just’ be mood swing. But, we’ll see. Did I mention that I did lose weight in that 1st week, too?
      That’s the thing I especially found with android or windows phone – all that bloatware that nobody uses. Apple has some, too, but a lot less. But only those three apps? Wow.

      Reply
  4. You are so my spiritual journey sister these days!! This entire year has all been about the PURGE — body, mind, and all the spaces in between. Hubby at first thought I was just restlessly decorating the house. Well yes, I am finally decorating too; but the main goal is that in order to paint a room – you have to take EVERYTHING out of it. And then I say, less than half goes back in! I’m fierce about it. So I am de-cluttering, as I also get to finally put my own Art look on my house. And don’t you breathe easier? My mind feels freer and more able to create. I can’t stand clutter around me, because it just adds to the noise already in my brain.
    Like your example in the kitchen – I would not have been able to enjoy the beach walk as much knowing I had to do dirty dishes when I returned. It’s like, get all Zen mode and then go back and work? No. Don’t do that. LOL
    I tackled the kitchen drawers the other day while waiting for water to boil. I may be in a little too deep. 🙂

    Thankfully my phone has not fell victim yet – aside from the standard apps that already come loaded, I only have about 10 extra apps, most of them photo stuff, one game, and a Bible app and a meditation app; because my spirit goes in all directions. ha

    As for your art, the Siamese one made me almost tear up a bit… I miss my little Siamese I had when I was little. 🙁
    But I just love the aesthetic you have here with the kitties – I love this type of drawing.

    Reply
    • Hubbys can be soooo non-suspecting, right? Which is kind of a good thing 🙂 You have to be fierce about decluttering, which is probably why I haven’t tackled my wardrobe yet, but I think I may this weekend, otherwise you’re just doing a half-ass job and noone is happy.
      Yes to Zen mode. It is interesting how just over the course of the past couple of weeks (diet change??) I feel a lot more relaxed. But again, work has not been stressful each and every day, so that may also be a reason – you see, I am very suspicious giving too much credit to one thing. But I will continue to monitor moods (and weight).
      OMG – the photo apps, should I count them? Wait I’ll do that, just for you …. I’m back, the total photo and editing related apps is: 42! And I already deleted some – sigh. I will go through it again, but I don’t want to delete too many, just because I am currently in a photo funk.
      The top cat was actually painted from memory of my Himalayan Cassie 🙂 Such gentle and cute (and furry!!) cats… I do miss her still, after ten years…

      Reply
  5. We just had a major master bath remodeling job done. The clean up afterwards was a spring clean x 3 – so much work, but well worth the effort. I really like your little kitty with flower painting – good work!

    Reply
  6. I’m ready to get back to a more “scheduled” work-out routine and start up walking and Pilates again. I finally took a step in the right direction – in my mind – and ordered a Fitbit. I think, with the added motivation and a little healthy competition I can get this body moving again. I’ve also been on a de-cluttering kick, nothing like an impending move to get you motivated. I just don’t want to take a bunch of junk with us that’ll only sit in some closet. I feel the same way about not wanting to do certain things if the area you do it in is cluttered. I love to bake but I always had extra pans or pots stored in the stove and I hated having to take it all out in order to bake… so I didn’t. I’m definitely looking forward to my bigger kitchen with an over and under stove and lots more counter space…
    Good luck on your body detox. Definitely keep us posted, I may attempt something like it in the future.
    Have a great week!!! xoxo

    Reply
    • I hope the fitbit gets you in the direction of the results you want. Certainly setting your mind is a biiiiig step. I resisted the diet change for a long time, but now I just could bear it (a.k.a. my body) anymore 🙁 These past two weeks I have felt more energetic and at the same time more relaxes, and I lost weight, too 🙂
      Moving used to be my time of getting rid of stuff, too. The thing is now, it is not only my, but also David’s stuff 😀 I am looking forward to more pics of your new place.

      Reply
  7. Love the kittens! The first one looks like my Millie. Well done on the declutter mission! It’s amazing the positive psychological boost that a declutter produces.

    Reply
  8. I’m so glad I stopped by here today! Seems you and I are kinda on the same wave front of DE-cluttering life over all. I haven’t felt motivated to be creative and have kinda ignored my internet home for the past few weeks. And when my kitchen is a mess, I cannot relax at all. The rest of the house can be kind of untidy, but the kitchen must be clean which right now it isn’t. I seem to be cleaning out my emails with the click of one button because it has been just a little to overwhelming as of lately, but I do stick around and hop over to those I love, you included.

    I LOVE, LOVE the sketches of the felines! I will be sure to show them to my daughter! Here is to a fabulous week my friend!

    Reply
    • Talking about neglecting the internet home to me?! As you can see, I haven’t been on here since last weekend. But you know what? It felt right and good. There were times I wanted to post something, but… I think less is more – although I will try and keep my posts shorter again – hahaha
      I’m the same as you with my house and kitchen and email and love of kittens and – hey, maybe we really should be neighbors 🙂
      Hope you are enjoying your weekend (without snow!)!

      Reply

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