Revived and Rested

I'm feeling very revived and rested after this xmas break.  I even managed to finish a painting and start a new one.

View of the Mountains from Beaumaris

I was fairly exhausted in the run up to this xmas and very relieved that I now feel recovered.  I also feel very hopeful for the New Year.  I have a instinctual feeling that something good is going to happen and lately I have been trying to practise trusting my instinct.  If my gut feeling says its wrong, then I'm going with it.
Learning to recognise the feeling of instinct or nervousness is tricky though and I have got these muddled in the past.
So I decided to put myself outside of my comfort zone and start applying for competitions. The first one I've applied for is Channel 4's, Show Me the Monet.  They attraction of having my work critiqued and a possible selling show in London was strong so I followed my instinct, ignored the horrible nervous feeling of 'What if I actually get somewhere with this and end up on telly!' and pressed the submit button.
I have also got a list of other competitions to enter and a feeling of great positivity.  I plan on making the Law of Attraction work for me this year!

Experimental Paintings

I've been experimenting with painting for the last few weeks and really enjoying it.  I'm interested in exploring mixed media collaged pieces which then have overlays of paint.  These are just two of my small experiments done on watercolour paper. 

I'm looking forward to an art fayre at The Muse Gallery in Heage on Saturday where I'll be selling and displaying my mosaics, still debating whether to take these small pieces along.

More Happiness Experiments...

As part of my happiness experiment which is exploring what happiness is and different ways of achieving it, I have also decided to address the physical aspects of my life. This means tackling the fact that I am incredibly unfit, overweight, drink too much and smoke. Not good when put down in cold hard facts...

But perhaps a few excuses are needed. I have cut down on the alcohol over the last 6 months, I was very fond of any bacchanialian activities and would use any means to achieve the heady state of loudness and removal of inhibitions. I also used it to stop the whirrings in my brain, to slow the thoughts down, to stop. You can't do a lot on a hangover the size of Everest. Tai chi has provided me with a calmer alternative and is much more affordable.

I have also signed up to take part in a programme to look at my diet, the first task was to drink more water. This sounds easy, but when you're used to viewing it as a dilutant to whiskey, its harder than you thnk, and to steal the words directly out of WP's mouth.. 'Simple but not easy'.

My first challenge was to add more water into my daily routine and I have found myself drinking so much fluids my family were in danger of thinking I had another kidney infection. Makes the prospect of the tipple, trampoline and tena lady party a stong possiblity... So I have had to cut down on the amount of fluid intake, and chose to cut back on the coffee (1 coffee a day from now on, got to be fresh and a treat) and no more than 5 cups of tea (Although in practice this is down to about 3) Clipper Teas were recommended to me and are proving to be delicious. This has made me very tired, as my energy has basically been running on caffeine. And then in the second week, things are looking different, I am starting to feel refreshed after a drink, the need for a cuppa to get going in the morning has been replaced with a glass of water. I am able to even manage a few words before 8.00am instead of the odd drooling grunt while I wait for my drug to start the metamorphoses from Zombie to yummy mummy.

So the intake of water has been a good thing. Its working for me and I have more energy and hopefully this will improve as I move towards being caffeine free.