Now Its Saturday

Its Saturday! The day before I leave. My to do list is getting shorter. I'm off to gym this morning to have a swim, do my aqua aerobics class and then have a nice relaxing spa. Once back home its packing time. Have to pack all my art supplies, my artwork for the exhibition, collage supplies for the kids and my personal stuff like clothes etc. I only have a little car so I will have to be a super packer. Hope I can get it all in. Want all that done today as I want to be on the road at 8am tomorrow morning. Oh yeah want to do some last minute washing as well. Better get a move on.

Its Thursday

Its Thursday already and I'm heading off to Naracoorte on Sunday morning. I just need to finish off a couple of altered papers and then start packing my art supplies and collage materials etc. I also like to do some cooking for Bob and freeze it otherwise he will eat junk while I'm gone and we can't have that. I'm still a little nervous about the whole thing but my very wise friend, Laura advised me to "just tell them what you know". How simple is that? I know once I'm there I will have a great time. I mean who wouldn't have fun? A whole week with 380 children ranging from 5 to 12 years old (number has risen from 350) with glue paints and collage materials. I should arrive in Naracoorte about lunch time on Sunday and in the afternoon I will be shown the school and will be able to set up so all will be ready to start on Monday morning. Note to self: pack warm clothes, coat, gloves, scarf, Naracoorte is very cold in winter.
Looking forward to visit Gare's Swamp again. Its at the end of Vanita's street and its an ancient aboriginal meeting place. I feel really connected to this spot and can see why the aboriginal people used to meet there. It has a very spiritual feeling to it. It feels like you are connecting with the earth more deeply when you visit there. In summer the swamp dries up and there's just a meagre little pond left but its winter now and there will be loads of water and lots of bird life. The air will be crisp and it will be soooooooo peaceful, mmm.

The New Eating Plan Report

Its been two weeks since I started my new eating plan. Eating small amounts six times a day rather than three large meals. I have to say with a big smile on my face that this really works and its easy to maintain. Ok I had what I like to call two little "accidents" of overeating in the fortnight. Went out to dinner with a friend, overate, then had dessert. Thought I would celebrate my overeating with lollies and chocolates the next night. Tried not to be too hard on myself and got back on track. Weight is shifting fairly easily and I'm never hungry. Eating more protein, making sure I have three serves of dairy and watching my carb intake is fairly simple. Even with my two little accidents I still managed to lose 1.7kg (3.7lbs) yay! The big test will be if I can manage to keep it up while I'm away, fingers crossed.

tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock

Hear that clock ticking? AAAAAHHHHGGG! Just starting to freak out a little. Will I remember to take everything? What if I forget the staple gun? Still not 100% clear on the project I will do with the 350 kids. Still need to alter some more paper before I leave. Shall I leave on the Saturday or the Sunday? Inner critic working overtime.

Ok a nice deep cleansing breath. Today I have a date with Zoe. Its school holidays and she would like to visit the museum and maybe also the botanical gardens to feed the ducks. If there's enough time I will also take her to the children's library. She is such a little healer I'm sure a day with her will do me the world of good.

Countdown - 2 Weeks to go.

Only two weeks before I leave for Naracoorte. I felt so organised but as the time is getting closer I feel the panic set in. It feels like there is so much still to do but is there really??? Not a great lover of lists but I think I will make one just to make sure I don't run out of time. Hope all my artwork will fit in my car.

The computer is playing up. Turned it on this morning and it crashed and froze and then I couldn't even get it to load. Took about half an hour of turning it off and on, off and on before it decided to finally start. Its too old to bother getting it fixed and there's not enough money in the kitty for a new one.

Off for a walk and then its time for some washing (perfect drying weather) and hopefully some art will get done as well.

Only two weeks before I leave for Naracoorte. I felt so organised but as the time is getting closer i feel panic

The Right Text

I've been a bit slack in the art department. Been concentrating on fitness and diet. Back on track now. Finished the background of a new piece yesterday. I used my favourite technique of gluing on book pages, newspaper, phone book pages etc. onto canvas and ripping them back. Then a thin layer of acrylic paint and its ready to paint/draw on. I just need to find the right text. It sets the stage and starts the mind thinking about the story. Off to gym and a nice long soak in the spa. Hopefully the text will come to me.

This and That

Delivered two collages for the Blackwood Rotary Art Prize and Exhibition yesterday. Julia has entered as well but in the photography section. I used to exhibit in this event quite a few years ago but that was before I started doing 2D work. I saw the entry form lying on the counter of my local art shop so I thought why not enter again. Its good to get your name out there.

Picking Julia up from the airport tonight. She's been in Melbourne spending some time with a good friend of hers. A lot of shopping was done I gather and some much needed girly time.

After gym I'm spending time with my good friend Vanita. Being a teacher and living in Naracoorte I only get to see her in school holidays. Haven't seen her since February and I'm looking forward to connecting with her today. We always say we are going to do something different and end up having lunch and shopping every time hehehe. Lucky I love to shop.

P.s. New eating plan is working a treat. Never hungry and full of energy.

Nibbles All Day

Just a quick post to let you know that having little amounts of food more often feels great. No hunger, no cravings which makes me a happy happy girl. And as Bob says "A happy Uta makes for an easier life". How rude hehehe

Metabolism

Had a hissy fit yesterday about my weight. Well not so much my weight as my inability to lose weight lately. I decided to check my kilojoules/calorie intake as I thought I really wasn't eating very much but I could've been wrong. That was all ok. I know I exercise hard as well so I was really getting upset. Its harder to keep the flab at bay as you get older but I felt like I really work hard at my diet and exercise and I should see better results. Its all very depressing.



I don't like fad diets. I want to adopt an eating plan that I can stick to for the rest of my life. Very rarely do I eat junk food. I eat wholegrains, lean meat and fresh fruit a vegetables. Not much processed food so what am I doing wrong?????



People kept going on about metabolism and metabolic rate so I thought I would look on the net and see if there is anything to speed up my metabolic rate. Here's a couple of inspiring sites www.redbookmag.com/your/speed-metabolism-yl www.matraining.com.au/Content_Common/pg-matabolic.seo

It seems from reading this research I'm not eating enough. When you don't eat enough your body thinks there's a famine and slows down its metabolic rate in order to conserve energy and last longer. The body also holds onto its fat stores. I should be eating 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 larger ones.

Anyway I thought I would give it a try. Anything that tells me to eat more is worth a try hehehe.
This is the sort of diet I will try along with my aerobic exercise and weight training.
Breakfast - wholegrain cereal and low fat milk
Mid morning snack - yogurt and fruit
Lunch - a little lean chicken or fish with green leafy salad
Mid afternoon snack - nuts and a piece of cheese
Dinner - Lean meat and steamed vegetables
After dinner snack - fruit
This is sort of how I eat now except I don't eat as much protein and I only have one snack in the afternoon and that's fruit.

Wish me luck. Thought I would try this out for 2 weeks and see how I go.

Hibernation

Been a bit slack on my posts but the weather is gloomy, cold and raining and I think I hibernate just a little. Can't complain about the rain, we need it so badly. Been in drought awhile now and haven't had our usual amount of rain through autumn and now winter either. Still the weather makes me want to stay in bed with a good book and eat chocolate. Bad girl! No chocolate, bad! Oh well I can dream can't I?